Department for Transport

Department for Transport: Stoke on Trent

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many jobs in (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies, non-ministerial departments, advisory bodies and other accountable statutory bodies (i) have been abolished or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent since 2010 and (ii) will be abolished in or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent by 2020.

Mr Robert Goodwill: In the Department for Transport itself, no posts have been based in Stoke-on-Trent since 2010.The Department’s Executive Agencies (Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, Vehicle Certification Agency and Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency) have had no posts based in Stoke-on-Trent since 2010, other than the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, who respond as follows:As part of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) testing transformation programme, which has the aim of taking testing closer to the customer, DVSA’s Goods Vehicle Testing Station (GVTS) in Stoke-on-Trent was closed in April 2015. Twenty nine roles were based at this testing station. The staff previously based at the station are still working for DVSA in the area; twenty four of these roles are now based at other DVSA sites and the remaining five staff are being redeployed to other roles in DVSA. There are currently no plans to close any further DVSA Good Vehicle Testing Stations (GVTS) or Driving Test Centres (DTC) in the Stoke-on-Trent area between now and 2020.We are not aware of any jobs being based in Stoke-on-Trent since 2010 in the wider accountable statutory bodies.

Department for Transport: Information Officers

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many press and public relations staff are employed by his Department; how many of those employees are paid more than (a) £50,000 and (b) £100,000; and what the total expenditure was on press and public relations by his Department in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The number of press and public relations staff employed in the central Department on 1 January 2016 was sixteen (all full-time employees). Four of those staff have annual salaries over £50,000 and none are over £100,000.The total of 16 staff compares to an equivalent figure for the central Department in 2009/10 of 19.The total expenditure on press and PR staff and related services in 2014-15 was £1,266,000.Overall communications expenditure by the central Department in 2014-15 was £22 million lower than in 2009-10. Across Government the government communications profession reduced communications spending by a total of £1 billion during the last Parliament.

Department for Transport: Grants

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many grants his Department awarded to projects for which the range of values in the Department's benefit-cost ratio assessment included negative values in each of the last six years; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Major transport schemes which are subject to ministerial approval include a value for money assessment in which benefits and costs are assessed. Since 2011 – the first year for which data is readily available – the Department has given final funding approval and awarded a grant to one major transport schemes whose costs exceeded its benefits:- Sheffield Tram Train Pilot. Approval of this scheme was granted on the basis that it is a pilot designed to test the range of issues, costs and opportunities involved in introducing the tram train concept to the UK.

Electric Vehicles

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many claims under the plug-in grant scheme for (a) cars and (b) vans have been accepted in each quarter since the introduction of that scheme.

Andrew Jones: The number of claims that have been made under the plug-in car grant scheme for each quarter since its introduction is as follows:QuarterCar Claims Jan - Mar 2011462Apr - Jun 2011230Jul - Sept 2011104Oct - Dec 2011109Jan - Mar 2012400Apr - Jun 2012406Jul - Sept 2012599Oct - Dec 2012710Jan - Mar 2013612Apr - Jun 2013920Jul - Sept 20131109Oct - Dec 20131047Jan - Mar 20142015Apr - Jun 20142536Jul - Sept 20144889Oct - Dec 20145976Jan - Mar 20158558Apr - Jun 20156992Jul - Sept 20156957Oct - Dec 20158453TOTAL53084The number of claims that have been made under the plug-in van grant scheme for each quarter since its introduction is as follows:QuarterVan Claims Jan - Mar 20110Apr - Jun 20110Jul - Sept 20110Oct - Dec 20110Jan - Mar 20120Apr - Jun 201299Jul - Sept 201241Oct - Dec 201275Jan - Mar 201349Apr - Jun 201346Jul - Sept 201353Oct - Dec 201341Jan - Mar 201437Apr - Jun 2014196Jul - Sept 2014170Oct - Dec 2014206Jan - Mar 2015298Apr - Jun 2015251Jul - Sept 2015163Oct - Dec 2015181TOTAL1906The total number of car and van grant claims in the fourth quarter of 2015 is still subject to audit.These figures do not include claims that have been cancelled.I am pleased to note that this Government has recently announced a long-term extension to theplug-in car grant, backed by a £400 million package to treble the number of ultra low emission vehicles on Britain’s roads. This means the grant will continue well beyond the latest guarantee of February 2016 until at least the end of March 2018 and will mean more than 100,000 people will benefit over the coming years — double the number who have already claimed the grant since 2011.

St Pancras Station: Passengers

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many passengers have used high-speed rail services from London St Pancras station in each year since such services started.

Claire Perry: Whilst Eurostar services commenced in 1994, St Pancras has only been the London terminus for HS1 services since late 2007. Eurostar journeys originating from St Pancras are as follows:2008 4.3m2009 4.3m2010 4.6m2011 4.7m20124.8m2013 5.0m2014 5.1m2015 5.1mDomestic high speed services, operated by franchised train company Southeastern, commenced in 2010. Southeastern journeys originating from St Pancras are as follows:2010 0.6m2011 2.0m2012 2.5m2013 2.8m2014 3.0m2015 3.4m

Stratford Station: Passengers

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of passengers who will (a) access Crossrail services via Stratford station and (b) pass through Stratford station on Crossrail services in each of the first three years after Crossrail services commence.

Claire Perry: Transport for London’s forecasts indicate that the following passenger numbers will (a) access Crossrail services via Stratford station and (b) pass through Stratford station on Crossrail services in each of the first three years after Crossrail services commence.201920202021Passenger numbers accessing Crossrail services via Stratford Station7.07m7.18m7.29mCrossrail passenger numbers using Stratford station as an interchange34.89m35.43m35.96mI have interpreted part ‘b’ of your request as referring to Crossrail passengers who will use Stratford station as an interchange.

Home Office

Asylum: Goytre

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what risk assessment has been made of the proposed centre for destitute asylum seekers in Goytre.

James Brokenshire: The premises in Goytre is one of a number of sites throughout the UK that the Home Office, along with its providers, has initially identified as potentially suitable for providing temporary reception facilities for asylum seekers. Initial assessments undertaken by the provider suggest that Goytre could meet the appropriate requirements laid out in Schedule 2 of the COMPASS contract. If the provider elects to progress this option, further appropriate assessments will be completed prior to any commercial agreements and utilisation of the site.

Home Office: European Union

Mr Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff in her Department are working on matters related to (a) European policy, (b) the future of Europe, (c) reform of the EU, (d) the renegotiation of the UK's relationship with the EU, (e) the EU referendum and (f) the consequences of the EU referendum; how many full-time equivalent staff are working on such matters; what the (i) staff and (ii) other cost of such work is; what proportion of that work is undertaken by such staff on (A) communications, (B) strategy and (C) policy; whether her Department has established any specific unit or units to deal with those matters; to whom such (1) staff and (2) units report; whether her Department has issued guidelines to staff on those matters; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our EU membership that cause so much frustration in Britain - so we get a better deal for Britain and secure our future. Departments are appropriately resourced to support the Government's priorities in Europe, including the renegotiation and referendum.

Vetting

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of applications for Disclosure and Barring Service checks (a) nationally, (b) in London and (c) in Hampstead and Kilburn constituency met each of the service's published service standards for waiting times in each year since 2012.

Karen Bradley: The following tables shows the proportion of applications for DBS checks that met the Published Service Standards for waiting times nationally and for applications received from people residing in London postcodes in each year since December 2012:Table 1: All applications nationallyPeriodTotal Apps Despatched21 Calendar Day Target21 Day Achievement56 Calendar Day Target56 Day AchievementDec-12 to Mar-131,223,77385%89.4%95%99.1%Apr-13 to Mar-143,948,73385%85.2%95%97.4%Apr-14 to Mar-154,111,85685%85.3%95%95.1%Apr-15 to Nov-152,911,93485%86.5%95%94.9%Table 2: Applications from London postcodesPeriodTotal Apps Despatched21 Calendar Day Target21 Day Achievement56 Calendar Day Target56 Day AchievementDec-12 to Mar-13124,90885%83.4%95%98.7%Apr-13 to Mar-14398,16885%80.2%95%95.9%Apr-14 to Mar-15420,78385%81.8%95%89.0%Apr-15 to Nov-15293,54985%84.1%95%86.8%It is not possible to provide the figure for applications from Hampstead and Kilburn constituency as this information is not collected.

Asylum: Cyprus

Stuart C. McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what documents set out current arrangements with the government of Cyprus regarding responsibility for refugees and asylum seekers arriving at the UK Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus; and how much has been paid as a result of such arrangements.

Stuart C. McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what legal grounds her Department has sought to pass responsibility for assessing the claims of refugees arriving at the UK Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus to the government of the Republic of Cyprus.

James Brokenshire: The Refugee Convention places no obligation on the UK to consider asylum claims made outside its immediate territory. Since 2003, under a Memorandum of Understanding agreed with the Republic of Cyprus, anyone seeking asylum will have their claim processed by the Cypriot authorities on behalf of the The Sovereign Base Area in Cyprus (SBA). The SBA is responsible for payment of any associated costs.

Home Office: UK Membership of EU

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to prepare for the outcome of the EU referendum.

James Brokenshire: The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our EU membership that cause so much frustration in Britain - so we get a better deal for Britain and secure our future. The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation: it believes it can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU.

Immigration: Domestic Violence

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she had made of the implications for her policies of the findings on domestic violence in the report of the chief inspector of Borders and Immigration entitled, An Inspection of Settlement Casework, published in November 2015.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office published its formal response to the Chief inspector of Borders and Immigration entitled, An Inspection of Settlement Casework, published on 19 November 2015 and this can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/responses-to-reports-by-the-independent-chief-inspector-of-borders-and-immigrationThe Home Office is revising its guidance for those who apply for Settlement because of Domestic Violence and intend to publish this as a priority. The guidance will make it clearer what weighting should be given to the evidence presented by applicants in support of their application and will be published on the Gov.UK website.

Radicalism

Sir Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Government's Counter-Extremism Strategy, published in October 2015, whether a religious group or individual which claims that their religion is the only one true faith is included in its definition of extremism.

Sir Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Government's Counter-Extremism Strategy, published in October 2015, what constitutes non-violent extremism.

Sir Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Government's Counter-Extremism Strategy, published in October 2015, what her definition is of non-violent expressions of religious belief which are (a) extreme and (b) not extreme.

Sir Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to paragraph 113 of the Government's Counter-Extremism Strategy, published in October 2015, what definition her Department uses of extremism; and what steps she is taking to ensure that that definition does not close down debate or limit free speech.

Sir Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Government's Counter-Extremism Strategy, published in October 2015, what plans the Government has to consult with faith groups on its definition of extremism.

Karen Bradley: The Government definition of extremism is 'vocal or active opposition to our fundamental values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and the mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.' We have been consistent on this since 2011 and have reaffirmed this definition in the Counter-Extremism Strategy.The overwhelming majority of people in this country support these values and condemn those who try to undermine them.The Government would not consider the ‘claim’ that an individual’s religion is ‘the only one true faith’ to be extremist.We are clear that Government should not restrict anyone’s freedom of speech or right to practise a faith. These are core values that help to make our country great. However we shouldn’t allow the extremist voice to go unchallenged, causing harm to our society and promoting hatred and division.The Government has engaged on the strategy, and will continue to engage with partners - including faith groups, communities and civic society groups on the new proposed powers to tackle the most dangerous extremists. This provides an opportunity to consult on the proposed powers further, and ensure that sufficient safeguards are in place to protect our rights to free speech and debate.

Human Trafficking

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in which (a) towns, (b) cities and (c) regions were the recorded locations of exploitation of potential victims of human trafficking referred to the UK National Referral Mechanism in 2014.

Karen Bradley: The table below shows the breakdown of the claimed location of exploitation for the 2,340 potential victims referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) in 2014. The geographical location of exploitation is recorded by police force area only, for reporting and statistical purposes.YEAR2014Police for area of exploitation (claimed)TotalAvon & Somerset16Bedfordshire12Cambridgeshire31Cheshire6Cleveland8Derbyshire6Devon & Cornwall8Dorset10Durham3Dyfed-Powys2Essex12Gloucestershire2GMP38Gwent5Hampshire21Hertfordshire4Humberside2Kent26Lancashire2Leicestershire7Lincolnshire8Merseyside7Metropolitan232Multiple locations83Norfolk7North Yorkshire13Northamptonshire2Northumbria12Nottinghamshire14Police Scotland44PSNI30South Wales7South Yorkshire14Staffordshire3Suffolk3Surrey1Sussex8Thames Valley17Warwickshire4West Mercia5West Midlands51West Yorkshire87Wiltshire19Overseas432Unknown / Not recorded*1016Total2340* “Unknown/not-recorded” cases are ones where: • potential victims did not know the location of exploitation; and / or• potential victims have been moved with the intention to exploit but have been identified before an act of exploitation has taken place; and / or• frontline workers did not accurately record this data when initial referrals were made

Sexual Offences: Universities

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to improve police responses to sexual assaults and rapes at universities.

Karen Bradley: Rape and sexual violence are devastating crimes which we remain committed to tackling. We expect every report of rape to be treated seriously from the point of disclosure, every victim to be treated with dignity, and every investigation and every prosecution to be conducted thoroughly and professionally.We continue to work with the police to look at ways to improve their response to rape and sexual assault. We have supported the publication of data on rape for every police force in the country as a basis for improving recording and investigations of this crime. The Rape Action Plan, led by the Crown Prosecution Service and the National Policing lead for rape, ensures that investigators and prosecutors have both the right tools for handling these cases, and referrals from the police to prosecutors are improved to increase successful prosecutions.We want victims to have the confidence to report these crimes to the police, knowing they will get the support they need and that everything will be done to bring offenders to justice, no matter where the offence takes place. Police recorded rape increased by 43% (to 31,621 offences) in the year ending June 2015 compared with the previous year. We do not hold figures on the number of rapes in England and Wales that took place in universities. This significant rise in the reporting of rape is the result of a renewed focus on the quality of crime recording and a greater willingness of victims to come forward. These can only be positive developments in our fight to end abuse.

Firearms: Crime

Mr Khalid Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much was spent on tackling gun crime in (a) England and (b) the West Midlands between (i) January 2010 to December 2012 and (ii) January 2013 to December 2015.

Mike Penning: Information about specific aspects of spending by the police is not held centrally by the Home Office. Birmingham is one of the areas previously supported under the Ending Gang and Youth Violence programme. However, it is not possible to determine what proportion of the total programme budget was spent in this area, and in turn what proportion of this was related to tackling gun crime specifically.

Police: Finance

Mr Khalid Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much was spent on policing in (a) England and (b) the West Midlands between (i) January 2013 and December 2015 and (ii) January 2010 and December 2012.

Mike Penning: The police in England and Wales receive funding from two main sources - central Government and the police precept component of council tax.The table below shows the amount of revenue funding provided by central Government to the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for the West Midlands (formerly the West Midlands Police Authority), and the amount of central Government revenue funding provided by central Government to PCCs (formerly police authorities) and their London equivalents in England from 2009/2010 to 2015/2016. It also shows precept funding for the relevant years.Overall police spending (central Government funding plus precept) will be protected in real terms over the next Spending Review period. This is an increase of up to £900 million in cash terms by 2019/20.Police reform is working and, according to the independent Crime Survey for England and Wales, crime has fallen by more than a quarter since 2010. This is the lowest level since the survey began in 1981. In the West Midlands, crime has fallen by 15 per cent compared with 2010.£mWest MidlandsEnglandYearGovernment funding*Precept**TotalGovernment funding*Precept**Total2009-2010529.077.9606.98,573.42,913.711,487.12010-2011540.879.4620.28,686.22,982.911,669.12011-2012515.879.7595.48,292.03,039.711,331.72012-2013484.780.0564.77,823.13,093.210,916.32013-2014474.882.0556.87,655.03,128.610,783.62014-2015458.984.4543.37,385.53,207.410,592.92015-2016435.687.3522.87,031.23,289.810,321.0*Government funding figures include specific grants that have since been rolled into Police Main Grant (including Rule 2 Grant, the Neighbourhood Policing Fund and, from 2013/14, the Community Safety Fund) in order to provide consistency over the time period.Since 2011/12, West Midlands and other English force areas have been in receipt of Council Tax Freeze Grants. These amounts are included in the figures, along with National and International City Grants paid to the London forces.These figures do not include funding for counter-terrorism policing, or additional funding received by the police from other specific grants, the Police Innovation Fund or other sources.**From 2013/14, West Midlands and other English force areas have also received Local Council Tax Support (LCTS) funding. These amounts are included within the precept totals to assist comparison with previous years.

Exclusion Orders

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has a policy on US  presidential candidates entering the UK who use hate speech.

James Brokenshire: A non -European Economic Area national may be refused entry to the UK, if, from information available the person’s exclusion is considered to be conducive to the public good. Each decision is made on a case by case basis taking into account all the relevant factors.

Crimes of Violence

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Government's publication, Call to End Violence against Women and Girls' Action Plan 2014, published in March 2014, what progress has been made on putting in place a new code of practice to ensure that safe addresses of victims of domestic and sexual abuse are protected; and if he will make a statement.

Karen Bradley: Protecting women and girls from violence and supporting victims and survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence remain key priorities for the Government. We will continue to improve the protection for victims and to bring offenders to justice.The Home Office has been working with a number of relevant Government Departments to assess what processes and guidance are currently used to protect the addresses and personal information of vulnerable persons and victims of crime. We are now developing a voluntary code of practice to address the identified gaps.

Travellers

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance has been issued to police forces on monitoring and recording Gypsy and Traveller status as separate ethnic categories.

Mike Penning: The use of Census categories for ethnicity is assessed each year as part of the Home Office’s process of agreeing each year’s Annual Data Requirement (ADR) of mandatory collections of statistical data from the police. This process includes consideration of the need, use, burden and data quality issues for each data collection. The National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) have previously advised against the transition to the new Census categories due to the significant burden that this would place on forces to change IT systems and processes.The ADR collections currently use the Census 2001 ethnicity framework, and there are no plans at present to move to the Census 2011 framework, which would add a separate category of ‘Gypsy or Irish Traveller’.The guidance given to police forces on providing data to the Home Office is based on the Census 2001 ethnicity framework. It is, however, a decision for individual forces as to how they monitor and record ethnicity data for their own purposes.

Asylum

Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many claimants have had their asylum claim rejected in each month since May 2010.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office publishes data on asylum initial decisions in Table as_01q (Asylum data tables Volume 1) of the quarterly Immigration Statistics release.A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics April – June 2015, is available from:https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-releaseInitial decisions do not necessarily relate to applications made in the same period and exclude the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions.



Asylum refusals, at initial decision
(Excel SpreadSheet, 11.6 KB)

Motorways: Accidents

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what national guidelines her Department provides to police authorities on the closure of motorway lanes in the event of motorway traffic accidents.

Mike Penning: The Home Office has issued no guidance. How the police handle road traffic incidents is an operational matter for individual police Chief Officers, in conjunction with their Police and Crime Commissioners .

Radicalism

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans the Government has to produce further guidance on the definition of extremism used in her Department's Counter-Extremism Strategy, Cm 9148, published in October 2015.

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the implications are for the provisions of the Public Order Act 1986 of her Department's Counter-Extremism Strategy, Cm 9148, published in October 2015 and its definition of extremism.

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to consult faith groups on the criteria and processes for decisions that will be made on whether expressions of belief are considered extreme for the purposes of its counter-extremism strategy and policies resulting from that strategy.

Karen Bradley: Holding answer received on 14 January 2016



The Government definition of extremism is 'vocal or active opposition to our fundamental values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and the mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.' We have been consistent on this since 2011 and have reaffirmed this definition in the Counter-Extremism Strategy.Vocal or active opposition to our fundamental values, in particular mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs within the Counter-Extremism Strategy definition of extremism is consistent with the incitement provisions within the Public Order Act 1986, in particular Part 3 aimed at those who stir up racial or religious hatred.We are clear that Government should not restrict anyone’s freedom of speech or right to practise a faith. These are core values. But we shouldn’t allow the extremist voice to go unchallenged, causing harm to our society and promoting hatred and division.Government has engaged widely on the Counter-Extremism Strategy, and continues to engage with partners - including faith groups and communities on the implementation of the Strategy’s measures.

Radicalism

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many intervention providers her Department has approved as part of its Channel Programme.

Mr John Hayes: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Radicalism

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many intervention providers for the Channel Programme are pending approval.

Mr John Hayes: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Radicalism

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will place in the Library a copy of the process for approving intervention providers under the Channel programme and the timetable for that process.

Mr John Hayes: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Home Office: UK Membership of EU

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what contingency planning her Department is undertaking to prepare for the possibility of a leave vote in the forthcoming referendum on the UK's membership of the EU.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Rights of Accused

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to protect legally privileged communications from surveillance.

Mr John Hayes: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum: Scotland

Stuart C. McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many refused asylum seekers were granted, continued on, or were reinstated onto support under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 in Scotland after lodging an appeal with the First-tier Tribunal (Asylum Support) in (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14 and (c) 2014-15.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum

Stuart C. McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum decisions identified as critically flawed in her Department's Quality Audit in the last 12 months were (a) reconsidered by officials as a consequence of that finding, (b) overturned as a result of that reconsideration and (c) overturned on appeal.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum

Stuart C. McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum decisions identified as seriously flawed in her Department's Quality Audit in the last 12 months were (a) reconsidered by officials as a consequence of that finding, (b) overturned as a result of that reconsideration and (c) overturned on appeal.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum

Stuart C. McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many seriously or critically flawed decisions were identified in the  Quality Audit of her Department's asylum decisions in the last 12 months.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Colombia: Trade Unions

Christian Matheson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Colombian government about alleged historical practices by the Colombian security services against trade unions.

Mr Hugo Swire: British Embassy officials in Bogotá raised actions against trade unionists in October when they discussed human rights with the Colombian Vice Minister of the Interior.

Islamic State: Oil

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with Turkish authorities on the illegal trade in oil by Daesh across the Syrian-Turkish border.

Mr David Lidington: We regularly discuss the importance of countering Daesh with the Turkish authorities, including the importance of halting the illegal oil trade. Turkey is taking steps to tackle oil smuggling across its border with Syria, including by greatly increasing the number of border guards. Turkish officials have said that they captured 79 million litres of smuggled oil last year. Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Turkey discussed the importance of cutting off Daesh’s access to oil revenues when he met Turkey’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources in December.

Capital Punishment: EU Action

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to support EU task force on the death penalty.

Mr David Lidington: The UK is a member of the EU’s informal task force on the death penalty, through the Council of the EU Working Party on Human Rights (COHOM). The UK also actively participates in formal COHOM discussions, and supports death penalty abolition through bilateral and multilateral human rights work overseas. Abolition of the death penalty is an integral element of the EU’s Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy. The UK supports the abolitionist efforts of EU officials and missions overseas. The UK contributes approximately 12.8% of the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights through its share of the EU Budget, which funds activities overseas that reduce and eliminate use of the death penalty.

Homicide

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what projects in which countries his Department promotes on reducing the number of judicial killings; and how much his Department has provided in funding to each such project.

Mr David Lidington: This financial year (2015/16), the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is funding 14 projects to the value of £585,000 to reduce the number of judicial executions. This includes the following projects:• Encouraging moves towards a moratorium in Botswana – £28,000.• Encouraging the conversion of Guatemala’s moratorium into permanent abolition - £40,000• Japan - £27,000• USA - £52,000• Projects in other countries - £188,000• A regional approach to abolition in Africa - £55,000• A regional approach to abolition in the Caribbean - £24,000• Constitutional challenges to capital punishment systems - £80,000• International lobbying by the All Party Parliamentary Group and Parliamentarians for Global Action - £91,000 (two projects)

North Korea: South Korea

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what involvement the UK has had in discussions relating to talks between North and South Korea.

Mr Hugo Swire: Addressing North Korea's reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons has always been key to improving security on the Korean Peninsula. To that end we have coordinated closely with the Republic of Korea (ROK), both in its sincere attempts to improve dialogue with the DPRK and also in responding robustly to DPRK provocations.The UK acted swiftly in response to the DPRK’s flagrant violation of UN Security Council Resolutions following its decision to conduct a nuclear test on 6 January. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), was in close contact with ROK Foreign Minister Yun within hours of the test being announced.I summoned the North Korean Ambassador (DPRK) on 7 January. During the meeting, I underlined the UK’s firm condemnation of the nuclear test which was a serious violation of UN Security Council Resolutions. I also made clear to the Ambassador that his country risked increased isolation and further action by the international community should it continue to threaten international security. I told the Ambassador that the North Korean regime should focus on feeding its people rather than regional instability.

Capital Punishment

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on how many occasions and in which countries his Department has declined to offer police, justice and security assistance to countries which retain the death penalty as part of their judicial system in each of the last five years.

Mr David Lidington: Before any UK Government assistance in the security and justice sectors is given overseas, Ministers and officials must satisfy themselves that any risks of inadvertently contributing to the imposition of death sentences (and other serious human rights violations) are identified and mitigated. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office publishes guidance as to how this should be done: http://bit.ly/1ilxhmG. Ministers also review requests for mutual legal assistance with specific prosecutions from overseas jurisdictions to ensure that unacceptable risks of contributing to a death sentence are not taken. We do not collect statistics as to how often these policies are applied and with what results. However, many proposals to offer assistance are modified or rejected after full consideration of the risks.

Paramjeet Singh

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has received from his Indian and Portuguese counterparts on the detention and potential deportation of Paramjeet Singh; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington: We have received no representations from the Indian or Portuguese government on the ongoing legal case in Portugal of Mr Paramjeet Singh.

Saudi Arabia: Capital Punishment

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reasons his Department did not include Saudi Arabia in Appendix One of its publication entitled HMG Strategy for the Abolition of the Death Penalty 2010-2015.

Mr David Lidington: The criteria used in 2010 to draw up the list of priority countries within the “HMG Strategy for the Abolition of the Death Penalty 2010-2015” are set out in that document. They are:1. The ability to make progress against three goals. (1/ an increase in the number of abolitionist or moratorium countries; 2/ a reduction in the numbers of executions; and 3/ ensuring EU minimum standards are met). 2. Willingness of country to engage on the abolition of the death penalty 3. Numbers of executions 4. Lack of minimum standards/transparency 5. Global influence of country concerned/ impact of country’s abolition elsewhere in the worldThe judgement made in 2010 was that available Government resources should focus on countries ready to engage in a dialogue about capital punishment likely to lead to reform. Many of the countries prioritised in 2010, including Tunisia, Morocco, China and the USA, have implemented reforms in the intervening five years. For example, the Caribbean has maintained its de facto moratorium. The most recent comprehensive list of countries in which we actively oppose the use of the death penalty was included in the FCO's 2014 Annual Human Rights and Democracy Report.

Capital Punishment

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to encourage other countries to abolish the death penalty as part of their judicial process.

Mr David Lidington: Securing global abolition of the death penalty is part of the work of UK diplomatic representations in countries which continue to carry out executions. It is a goal that Ministers and officials actively pursue. Bilaterally, and with EU and other like-minded partners, we make representations in all countries which carry out executions, urging them to instate a moratorium; we encourage states to ratify the UN conventions and protocols which contain commitments to abolition, and we fund projects which encourage abolition or reform. This approach has played a part in driving the clear global progress towards abolition.

North Korea: Nuclear Weapons

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he plans to take to establish the veracity of recent reports that the North Korean government has capacity for a hydrogen bomb making facility.

Mr Hugo Swire: We assess that the size of the seismic event caused by the 6 January nuclear test conducted by North Korea (DPRK) was not indicative of a successful two-stage thermonuclear test (commonly known as a hydrogen bomb). However, as the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) has said in his Written Ministerial Statement on 13 January, this activity was a clear violation of four UN Security Council Resolutions, and we are working with other UN Security Council members on a further Resolution.

Capital Punishment

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reason the UK no longer has a strategy on opposing the death penalty; and whether the Government plans to publish a new strategy.

Mr David Lidington: This Government is continuing its work to oppose the death penalty as part of its broader efforts to promote human rights. Our commitment to the Rules Based International Order underpins this work, including through bilateral and multilateral support to global efforts to abolish the death penalty. We do not intend to publish a new strategy specific to the death penalty; but we will be publishing a strategy for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)’s Human Rights and Democracy Programme Fund shortly, which will show how work to abolish the death penalty is important under all three of the strategy’s new themes. The FCO’s death penalty-related work will also be covered in future instalments of the FCO’s Annual Human Rights Report.

Saudi Arabia: Capital Punishment

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Written Answer of 7 January 2016 to Question 20867, what the response was of the government of Saudi Arabia to concerns raised by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and the UK Ambassador on the recent mass executions.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Saudi Arabian Government is well aware of the UK’s opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances and in any country.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Information Officers

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many press and public relations staff are employed by his Department; how many of those employees are paid more than (a) £50,000 and (b) £100,000; and what the total expenditure was in press and public relations by his Department in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Mr David Lidington: The Communication Directorate employs 86 full-time employees in London on press and public relations, including promotion of the UK overseas. This number does not include Communication Directorate staff who work solely on functions other than press and public relations (e.g. internal communications, service transformation etc.).The FCO also employs staff in press and public relations roles abroad, but as these details are not held centrally this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.i) The number of press and public relations employees who earn more than £50,000 in the FCO is: 18ii) The number of press and public relations employees who earn more than £100,000 in the FCO is: 0iii) The total expenditure on the central communication function (not including staff costs) by the FCO in 2014/15 was: £1,883,791

Bahrain: Foreign Relations

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has an official statement of the UK's relationship with Bahrain and the Bahraini government.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We have a long and shared history with Bahrain. Our relationship with Bahrain is important for our respective security and prosperity. We will continue to work with Bahrain to support their reform agenda. Bahrain has made progress but we are clear more needs to be done.

Bahrain: Politics and Government

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the government of Bahrain on (a) the treatment of opposition leaders in that country and (b) medical facilities available to Hassan Mushaima.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We regularly discuss human rights and reform with the Government of Bahrain - including at the biannual UK-Bahrain Joint Working Group meeting which was most recently held in November 2015. The UK continues to encourage the Government of Bahrain to meet its human rights obligations, including the treatment of detainees in detention, and to honour all conventions to which it is a party. We are aware of the case of Hassan Mushaima and have raised it with the Government of Bahrain.

Bahrain: Politics and Government

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with opposition politicians and groups in Bahrain.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We engage with a broad range of political groups in Bahrain to encourage their participation in inclusive political dialogue. I had the opportunity to do so during my recent visit to Bahrain in June 2015.

Capital Punishment

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what resources his Department has spent on HM Government Strategy for Abolition of the Death Penalty, revised in October 2011 in each year since its publication; and what resources his Department plans to spend in each year of the current spending review period.

Mr David Lidington: In the four financial years 2011-2015, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office funded 42 abolition of death penalty projects with a total expenditure of £2,382,237. The breakdown of expenditure by year was:2011-12 £516,6792012-13 £760,8032013-14 £581,9452014-15 £522,809In the current financial year, we expect to spend around £600,000 on this topic. We will be announcing an ambitious strategy for further human rights programming shortly. This strategy will offer future opportunities for abolition of death penalty projects. The amount we allocate to projects in this area will depend on the quality of bids received.

Capital Punishment

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress has been made on HM Government Strategy for Abolition of the Death Penalty, published October 2011.

Mr David Lidington: Progress has been strong. In December 2014, a biennial UN resolution calling for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty was passed with a record majority. Fewer than 30 countries now carry out executions and the number of people executed is at an all-time low. There have been set-backs and disappointments, but the long-term trend in the use of the death penalty is undoubtedly downwards. Nonetheless, the British Government’s view remains that the death penalty is an unjustified tool in all circumstances and we continue to campaign for total abolition.

Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department made to the Saudi Arabian government on Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr (a) prior to and (b) after his execution.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Prior to his execution the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), raised the case of Sheikh Nimr Al-Nimr with the Saudi Arabian authorities at a very senior level. This was a case we followed very closely. I have also raised concerns with the Saudi authorities about the mass execution on 2 January, which included that of Sheikh Nimr Al-Nimr, and the use of the death penalty most recently on 12 January.

Travel: Insurance

Tom Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps to increase public awareness of the need for holidaymakers to take out travel insurance.

James Duddridge: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave on 12 January 2016 to Parliamentary Question 21029. Encouraging the take-up of adequate travel insurance through our ‘Know Before You Go’ communications campaign which will remain a priority in 2016.

North Korea: Nuclear Weapons

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to his North Korean counterpart on the recent nuclear weapons tests conducted in that country; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Hugo Swire: I summoned the North Korean (DPRK) Ambassador on 7 January. During the meeting, I underlined the UK’s firm condemnation of the nuclear test which was a serious violation of UN Security Council Resolutions. I also made clear to the Ambassador that his country risked increased isolation and further action by the international community should it continue to threaten international security. I told the Ambassador that the North Korean regime should focus on feeding its people rather than regional instability.

Syria: Humanitarian Aid

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to broker negotiated ceasefires to allow the creation of aid corridors across Syria; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK plays a key role in ensuring humanitarian access to Syria. The UK co-sponsored and lobbied hard for UN Security Council Resolutions 2165, 2191 and 2258 which enable the UN to deliver aid across borders, without the consent of the regime, to assist those in the hardest to reach areas.The UK will consider options compliant with international law that might save lives in Syria. However, experience suggests that so-called ‘safe’ areas or corridors can prove difficult to demilitarise and protect against all threats. In fact, there is a risk that they can become targets. For an aid corridor to work, all parties to the conflict would need to agree to its establishment. In the absence of such consent, foreign military intervention may be necessary, under the authority of a UN Security Council resolution.An estimated £275 million of humanitarian assistance funded by the UK for inside Syria has been allocated to the UN and NGOs for cross-border operations. We are now encouraging the UN to consider alternative means of assistance such as cash, to support vulnerable populations that are increasingly hard to reach. We continue to call on all sides to the conflict to respect International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and ensure free, unimpeded access for humanitarian agencies.

Northern Ireland Office

Anniversaries: Northern Ireland

Mr Jeffrey M. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what plans she has to participate in events to commemorate the centenary of the (a) Easter Rising and (b) Battle of the Somme.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: One of the Northern Ireland Office’s objectives for the commemoration of the decade of centenaries of 1912-1922 is to work with the Irish Government to promote greater understanding of our shared history and promote reconciliation.2016 will mark the centenary of a number of significant events including the Easter Rising, the Battle of the Somme and the Battle of Jutland. The Northern Ireland Office is working with colleagues in DCMS and others to prepare for a number of these commemorations. All invitations received are being considered on a case by case basis.

Attorney General

Attorney General: UK Membership of EU

Tim Loughton: To ask the Attorney General, what contingency arrangements the Law Officers' Departments have made for the eventuality of a majority leave vote in the upcoming EU referendum.

Jeremy Wright: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to question 21952 by my Rt. Hon Friend the Prime Minister on the 14th January.

Crimes of Violence: Females

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Attorney General, what recent steps the CPS has taken to improve the conviction rate for violence against women and girls.

Robert Buckland: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the oral question from the Rt. Hon. Member for Delyn earlier today

Domestic Violence and Rape: Convictions

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Attorney General, what recent steps the Crown Prosecution Service has taken to improve the conviction rate for rape and domestic violence.

Robert Buckland: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the oral question from the Hon. Member for Delyn earlier today.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Minimum Wage: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the level of the National Minimum Wage for people aged (a) 16 to 17 years, (b) 18 to 20 years and (c) 21 to 24 years in each year until 2020.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he plans to provide an answer to Question 18568, tabled by the hon. Member for East Ham on 2 December 2015.

Nick Boles: The Government has not made an estimate of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates for these age groups for each year until 2020. The Government asks the Low Pay Commission to make NMW rate recommendations each year based on maximising the wages of the low paid without damaging employment opportunities. The Low Pay Commission will recommend the October 2016 NMW rates and indicative rates for 2017 by the end of February 2016.

Apprentices: Taxation

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what programmes there are for companies who will not be covered by the Apprenticeship Levy to assist with the creation of apprenticeship positions; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Boles: All employers in England will be able to access funding for apprenticeships after the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy in 2017. We will set out further details about how this will operate in due course, including any programmes available for employers who will not pay the levy.We will also continue to offer employers an apprenticeship recruitment service through Find an Apprenticeship on gov.uk. We are continuing the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers (AGE) to support more small firms to take on 16-24 year old apprentices.

Living Wage

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much has been spent on developing and promoting the website www.livingwage.gov.uk to date; and how much of that expenditure is related to the optimisation of search engine rankings on Google.

Nick Boles: The amount spent on developing the website www.livingwage.gov.uk is £21,860.00The amount spent to date on promoting the website www.livingwage.gov.uk is £7,000.00, which covers keyword searches for information on the national living wage by business and worker audiences online.There has been no expenditure relating to the optimisation of search engine rankings.It is important that businesses and workers receive timely information in advance of the changes in pay entitlements. Promoting the website has supported government in taking early action to remind businesses of the new £7.20 rate for employees aged 25 and over, as well as the important steps they should take to be ready.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills: European Union

Mr Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many staff in his Department are working on matters related to (a) European policy, (b) the future of Europe, (c) reform of the EU, (d) the renegotiation of the UK's relationship with the EU, (e) the EU referendum and (f) the consequences of the EU referendum; how many full-time equivalent staff are working on such matters; what the (i) staff and (ii) other cost of such work is; what proportion of that work is undertaken by such staff on (A) communications, (B) strategy and (C) policy; whether his Department has established any specific unit or units to deal with those matters; to whom such (1) staff and (2) units report; whether his Department has issued guidelines to staff on those matters; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our EU membership that cause so much frustration in the United Kingdom - so we can get a better deal for our country and secure our future. Departments are appropriately resourced to support the Government's priorities in Europe, including the renegotiation and referendum.

UK Membership of EU

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to allow greater flexibility for the UK to develop trade agreements outside Europe as part of the renegotiation of the UK relationship with the EU.

Anna Soubry: The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our EU membership that cause so much frustration in Britain - so we get a better deal for Britain and secure our future.My Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister has set out the four objectives at the heart of our renegotiation: economic governance, competitiveness, sovereignty and migration/welfare.The Government is focused on success: it believes it can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU.

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment the Government has made of whether the TTIP trade deal will make the UK more vulnerable to lawsuits; if the Government will insist that TTIP does not contain provisions which would allow similar lawsuits to be brought in the UK; and if the Government will reconsider its support for TTIP in response to that lawsuit.

Anna Soubry: The Government does not comment on cases in which it has no involvement. Under UK laws a foreign investor can already sue the Government over allegedly unfair or unlawful treatment. UK domestic courts and our legal system will continue to be the main route for resolving the vast majority of disputes between foreign investors and the Government regardless of any investment protection provisions included in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). This is because our domestic courts typically offer a quicker and cheaper method of resolving disputes.The European Commission has published its proposal for investment protections in TTIP. This includes various possible measures to ensure these provisions are fair and transparent, including prohibiting claims from being pursued simultaneously under investor-state dispute settlement provisions and in domestic courts.The UK will continue to work with the Commission on the details of these latest proposals. We need investment protections that ensure UK investors are treated fairly overseas by foreign governments. But the UK will make sure that governments can continue to regulate lawfully in the public interest.

Minimum Wage: North West

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many businesses in (a) Warrington and (b) the North West were (i) investigated and (ii) prosecuted for failure to pay the national minimum wage in the last year for which figures are available.

Nick Boles: The Government does not record information on the number of National Minimum Wage investigations or prosecutions by region, local authority or parliamentary constituency. Employers may register trading addresses which differ from where they undertake business and can operate at multiple sites across the country. Therefore it is not always possible to identify a particular area where national minimum wage non-compliance has occurred.

Department for International Development

Syria: Humanitarian Aid

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to provide assistance to people in Madaya, Syria; and if she will work with allies of the UK, the United Nations and non-governmental organisations to provide humanitarian relief to that region.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The UK has been at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region. We have pledged over £1.1 billion, making us the second largest bilateral donor after the US. We also co-sponsored and lobbied hard for the passage of UN Security Council Resolutions 2165, 2191 and 2258 which call on the parties to allow rapid, safe and unhindered access for humanitarian aid to besieged and hard to reach places. We are working to bring about an inclusive political solution to end the conflict in Syria through our engagement in the International Syria Support Group, with the UN Special Envoy for Syria, and with the Syrian Opposition.The UK has provided support to the UN and international NGOs (INGOs) since the start of the conflict to deliver aid in hard to reach and besieged areas of Syria, including Madaya.On 11 January 2016, the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent confirmed that aid convoys of humanitarian assistance had arrived in the hard to reach towns of Madaya, Foah and Kefraya. Two further convoys have been given permission. The convoy is expected to meet survival needs of the 40,000 persons inside Madaya, and of 20,000 people inside Foah and Kefraya. DFID funding to UN agencies is directly supporting the current convoy with food parcels, nutritional supplements, essential drugs and non-food items including winterisation kits.The UK worked with partners in the UN Security Council to put humanitarian access in Madaya, and across Syria, on the Security Council’s agenda on Monday 11 January.In February 2016, the UK will invite world leaders to London for a Conference to support immediate needs and identify longer-term solutions to address the needs of those affected by the crisis.

Developing Countries: Climate Change

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether it is her Department's policy to support the G7 Initiative on Climate Risk Insurance.

Mr Nick Hurd: The UK supports the G7 Climate Risk Insurance Initiative and is committed to contributing to meeting the collective target set out in the Elmau declaration of helping up to an additional 400 million people in the most vulnerable developing countries to gain access to climate risk insurance by 2020.UK support under the Initiative includes contributions to the African Risk Capacity and the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Assessment and Financing Initiative. In September the Prime Minister announced that the UK would provide at least £5.8 billion of climate finance over the next five years which will include support for climate risk insurance.

Syria: Humanitarian Aid

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans she has to provide aid to people in (a) Madaya and (b) other cities under attack by armed forces of the government of President Assad.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The UK has been at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region. We have pledged over £1.1 billion, making us the second largest bilateral donor after the US. We also co-sponsored and lobbied hard for the passage of UN Security Council Resolutions 2165, 2191 and 2258 which call on the parties to allow rapid, safe and unhindered access for humanitarian aid to besieged and hard to reach places. We are working to bring about an inclusive political solution to end the conflict in Syria through our engagement in the International Syria Support Group, with the UN Special Envoy for Syria, and with the Syrian Opposition.The UK has provided support to the UN and international NGOs (INGOs) since the start of the conflict to deliver aid in hard to reach and besieged areas of Syria, including Madaya.On 11 January 2016, the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent confirmed that aid convoys of humanitarian assistance had arrived in the hard to reach town of Madaya, and the besieged areas of Foah and Kefraya. Two further convoys have been given permission. The convoy is expected to meet survival needs of the 40,000 persons inside Madaya, and 20,000 people inside Foah and Kefraya. DFID funding to UN agencies is directly supporting the current convoy with food parcels, nutritional supplements, essential drugs and non-food items including winterisation kits.The UK worked with partners in the UN Security Council to put humanitarian access in Madaya, and across Syria, on the Security Council’s agenda on Monday 11 January.In February 2016, the UK will invite world leaders to London for a Conference to support immediate needs and identify longer-term solutions to address the needs of those affected by the crisis.

Syria: Humanitarian Aid

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment has been made of the humanitarian situation in (a) Madaya and (b) other Syrian cities under attack by armed forces of the government of President Assad.

Mr Desmond Swayne: We are seriously concerned about the acute humanitarian situation in Madaya, Rural Damascus. Madaya has been surrounded by regime and allied forces since July 2015, leading to sharply deteriorating conditions for an estimated 40,000 people, most of whom are women and children. Around 20,000 residents currently face life-threatening deprivation of the basics for survival. Prior to 11 January 2016, humanitarian assistance was last delivered on 18 October, as part of a joint UN/ Syrian Arab Red Crescent/ICRC convoy, that provided assistance to Madaya, Zabadani, Foah and Kefraya under the terms of a ceasefire agreement.The UK is deeply concerned that nearly 400,000 people live in besieged areas and roughly 4.5 million in hard-to-reach areas in Syria. Due to constrained humanitarian access, we are unable to provide a systematic and updated picture of humanitarian needs across besieged and hard-to-reach areas. The appalling numbers of people living in besieged areas is indicative of the continued flouting of International Humanitarian Law and disregard for civilian lives by the regime, Daesh and armed groups inside Syria.The UK has been at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region. We have pledged over £1.1 billion, making us the second largest bilateral donor after the US. We have provided support to the UN and international NGOs (INGOs) since the start of the conflict to deliver aid in hard to reach and besieged areas of Syria, including Madaya. We are working to bring about an inclusive political solution to end the conflict in Syria through our engagement in the International Syria Support Group, with the UN Special Envoy for Syria, and with the Syrian Opposition.In February 2016, the UK will invite world leaders to London for a Conference to support immediate needs and identify longer-term solutions to address the needs of those affected by the crisis.

Sub-Saharan Africa: Water

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what progress has been made to further develop clean water programmes in sub-Saharan Africa in the last 12 months.

Mr Nick Hurd: In 2014/15, DFID provided access to clean water for 5.8 million people including 2.6 million people in sub-Saharan Africa. These were some of the almost 63 million people in Africa and Asia that DFID supported to gain access to water and sanitation between 2011 and 2015. We are currently formulating our new portfolio to deliver on the UK government’s commitment to help a further 60 million people get access to clean water and sanitation by 2020. We expect sub-Saharan African countries to feature significantly including continuation of programmes in Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Two programmes designed to meet our previous commitments, a programme with UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund) and the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Results Programme, will continue to deliver results until early 2016, including in Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Niger, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

Middle East: Refugee Camps

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2016 to Question 21331, if she will publish the progress reports received to date from funded agencies in receipt of Syria crisis response funds.

Mr Desmond Swayne: Under the Government's transparency commitment, information is published each month on DFID’s Development Tracker website (https://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk) on all projects in Jordan and Lebanon. This enables public scrutiny of project documents, budgets and expenditure. Where possible, all DFID Annual Reviews and Project Completion Reports for Syria Crisis response projects are published. In some instances details of operations need to be withheld from publication on the grounds of protecting the safety of staff and humanitarian partners. Progress and monitoring reports completed by UN agencies and NGO partners are used to inform the DFID reporting process but are not published by DFID.

Department for Education

Foster Care: Private Companies

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on the use of private companies to arrange foster care placements.

Edward Timpson: The arrangement of foster care placements is the duty of local authorities. All placements must be made with consideration to the child's assessed needs through a robust care planning process.The Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 set the statutory framework for all fostering services, including Independent Fostering Providers. The regulatory framework for the provision of foster care placements is clear that local authorities must have access to sufficient placements to meet the needs of the children they look after. As long as placements meet the needs of the child, it is for local authorities to determine whether placements are provided in-house or by independent providers.

Academies: Finance

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2015 to Question 18680, for what reasons her Department does not hold information on (a) the number of academies in England that were in deficit and (b) the total deficit of those academies in each year since 2009-10.

Nick Gibb: Holding answer received on 11 January 2016



The Department for Education does not hold this information in the form requested and it could be calculated only at disproportionate cost.Academy trust accounts have only been consolidated into those of the department from 2012-13 (academic year 2011/12). Analysis of academy trusts in deficit before then would require reviewing individually each trust’s accounts.

Pupils: Bullying

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2015 to Question 19591, what alternative provision is available for bullied children who subsequently develop complex needs; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure government funding attaches to a child requiring alternative provision but lacking an EHC plan because the damage from bullying has caused a collapse in self-esteem and wellbeing rather than a physical medical condition.

Nick Gibb: Any pupil who can no longer attend a mainstream school due to complex needs, including those related to mental health issues, must be provided with alternative education. It is for the local authority to decide the most suitable provision and they are encouraged to take into account the views of relevant professionals, such as medical practitioners, as well as parents and pupils. Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 lays a duty on local authorities to arrange education for pupils of compulsory school age who would not otherwise receive it. Local authorities use a portion of their high needs budget to fund this provision. Schools are also free to use their budgets to commission alternative education for pupils who have complex needs they judge would be best managed with such an approach.The Department has issued guidance on alternative provision: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alternative-provision. The Department has also issued guidance on the education of pupils with complex medical needs that cannot be managed in a mainstream school: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/education-for-children-with-health-needs-who-cannot-attend-school.

Education: Travellers

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she will re-establish the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Education Stakeholder Group; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: We are currently considering the Department's role in the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Education Stakeholder Group. Officials will be writing to members of the group in the spring.

Department for Education: Stoke on Trent

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many jobs in (a) her Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies, non-ministerial departments, advisory bodies and other accountable statutory bodies (i) have been abolished or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent since 2010 and (ii) will be abolished in or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent by 2020.

Nick Gibb: No jobs in either the Department for Education or any of its non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies, non-ministerial departments, advisory bodies or other accountable statutory bodies have been abolished or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent since 2010, and no such jobs will be abolished or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent by 2020

Social Services: Children

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which children's services departments have been subject to multi-agency inspections since 2010; and what the results were of each such inspection.

Nick Gibb: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 12 January 2016.The correct answer should have been:

Ofsted have run a number of pilot inspections since 2010:5 multi-agency child protection inspection pilots;2 joint (with CQC) children looked after inspection pilots;2 Integrated inspection pilots; and1 Joint targeted area inspection, undertaken in November/December 2015.Following the pilot in November/December 2015, Ofsted intends to conduct up to six Joint Targeted Area Inspections by the summer of 2016.There are 152 local authority children’s services departments. Of these three are rated ‘outstanding’, 53 are rated ‘good’, 39 36 are rated ‘adequate’, 75 39 are rated ‘Requires improvement’ and 21 are rated ‘Inadequate’. A table that has been attached to this answer sets out the most recent Ofsted rating for each local authority and indicates whether the authority is subject to intervention for its children’s social care services. All local authorities rated as ‘Inadequate’ are subject to intervention measures.


Table of Ofsted Inspection Ratings as at 11 1 2016
(Word Document, 177 KB)




Table of Ofsted Inspection Ratings as at 11 1 2016
(Word Document, 41.29 KB)

Nick Gibb: Ofsted have run a number of pilot inspections since 2010:5 multi-agency child protection inspection pilots;2 joint (with CQC) children looked after inspection pilots;2 Integrated inspection pilots; and1 Joint targeted area inspection, undertaken in November/December 2015.Following the pilot in November/December 2015, Ofsted intends to conduct up to six Joint Targeted Area Inspections by the summer of 2016.There are 152 local authority children’s services departments. Of these three are rated ‘outstanding’, 53 are rated ‘good’, 39 36 are rated ‘adequate’, 75 39 are rated ‘Requires improvement’ and 21 are rated ‘Inadequate’. A table that has been attached to this answer sets out the most recent Ofsted rating for each local authority and indicates whether the authority is subject to intervention for its children’s social care services. All local authorities rated as ‘Inadequate’ are subject to intervention measures.


Table of Ofsted Inspection Ratings as at 11 1 2016
(Word Document, 177 KB)




Table of Ofsted Inspection Ratings as at 11 1 2016
(Word Document, 41.29 KB)

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with her ministerial colleagues on improving the quality of sex and relationship education in schools.

Nick Gibb: The Government believes that all children should have the opportunity to receive a high quality and appropriate sex and relationship education (SRE).SRE is compulsory in maintained secondary schools. Primary schools can choose to teach SRE in an age-appropriate way. All schools providing SRE, including academies and primary schools, must have regard to the Secretary of State’s Sex and Relationship Education Guidance (2000).While the Secretary of State regularly discusses such matters with her colleagues, there have been no formal meetings recently about improving the quality of sex and relationship education in schools.

Extracurricular Activities

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's consultation, Out-of-school education settings: call for evidence, published on 26 November 2015, what definition her Department uses for (a) supplementary schools, (b) tuition centres, (c) intensive education and (d) the eight hours threshold for inspection.

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to include within its proposals for registration and inspection of out-of-school education settings (a) annual holiday clubs and (b) communal religious groups.

Nick Gibb: The Government wants children to be educated in a safe environment where they are not exposed to hateful and extremist views that undermine British values.The call for evidence on out-of-school settings described:(a) Supplementary schools as settings which offer support or education in addition to mainstream or core learning, and which operate after school hours and on the weekends; and(b) Tuition centres as settings which could often be used in place of mainstream education and support home education, and which can operate at any time of day.The proposals are about making sure that where there are concerns raised by parents and others about issues of extremism, child cruelty or inappropriate teaching in unregulated settings, the Government can take action to protect children and empower parents.The call for evidence defined intensive education as anything which entails an individual child attending a setting for more than betweensix toeight hours a week. Such settings would be required to register with their local authority and be eligible for inspection where concerns were reported.Settings providing ad hoc classes or regular classes below a specified time threshold would not be captured by the proposal. One-week holiday clubs and Sunday schools would not, therefore, be covered. The proposal is intended to capture settings where children receive intensive education, regardless of faith or whether provided by a community group.

Ministry of Justice

Prisons: Alcoholic Drinks

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much illicitly-brewed alcohol was seized in prisons in each of the last 10 years.

Andrew Selous: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has in place a comprehensive range of security measures and searching techniques to detect items of contraband including alcohol, to prevent smuggling into prisons. In addition we use specially trained dogs to detect illicit alcohol.The table below gives the number of alcohol finds in prisons in England and Wales in the timeframe requestedTable 1: Finds of alcohol in prisons in England and Wales, 2005 to 2014YearNumber of Incidents20051722006306200733020083402009468201038620115732012803201387520141090(1) Figures were produced by searching for the words “alcohol”, “hooch” and “fermenting liquid”.(2) Includes NOMS operated Immigration Removal Centres(3) Data in whole years only and is not yet available for 2015Changes were introduced to the Incident Report System in September 2015 that improved the recording of alcohol finds. Prior to these changes, alcohol related finds are recorded as a "miscellaneous" incident and requires a text search of the data. This method of extracting data requires searching for specific words and may not always identify all the related incidents. It can also identify non-related incidents which contain the words in the search. In this case I have searched for the words "alcohol", "hooch" and "fermenting liquid" in the incident text.All figures in this answer have been drawn from live administrative data systems which may be amended at any time.Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. The data are not subject to audit.

Prison Service: ICT

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of levels of computer literacy among prison staff.

Andrew Selous: All staff who are required to use computers as part of their day-to-day duties will receive formal training in the use of specific software or programmes during induction into their role, or as part of continuous professional development.

Ministry of Justice: Stoke on Trent

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many jobs in (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies, non-ministerial departments, advisory bodies and other accountable statutory bodies (i) have been abolished or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent since 2010 and (ii) will be abolished in or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent by 2020.

Mike Penning: Within the Ministry of Justice, only the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) have offices within the Stoke-On-Trent postal address. There is one Juvenile Centre with a Stoke-On-Trent postal address, HMYOI Werrington. No posts have been abolished or relocated since 2010. There are currently no plans to abolish or relocate any posts by 2020. There are three National Probation Service (NPS) locations with a Stoke-on-Trent postal address. The NPS has only existed from 1 June 2014. Since that date there are no records of any posts being abolished or any relocation activity in the NPS Midlands Division which includes Stoke-on-Trent. There is an organisational change programme within the National Probation Service, that is ongoing and that will impact all area of NPS activity. It is too early to define the impact on a particular geographical location. HMCTS are unable to disaggregate information collected for the North Staffordshire area, so the following includes staff based within Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme. Since 2010, there has been a net reduction of 8 posts. There are currently no plans to further change the staffing in the North Staffordshire area.

Prisoners' Release

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many serving prisoners were not in prison on 25 December 2015; what offences were committed by each such offender; and how many such offences were in what category of violent offences against the person offences.

Andrew Selous: The data to answer this question is currently unavailable. The Ministry of Justice publishes data on incidences of release on temporary licence and the number of prisoners released on ROTL on a quarterly basis. The data is collated a quarter in arrears and published after quality assurance. Data for the fourth quarter of 2015 will be published on 28 April 2016.

Child Abuse in North Wales Judicial Inquiry Review

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2015 to Question 19906, for what reasons the Government is considering the report of Lady Justice Macur prior to its publication.

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2015 to Question 19906, by whom Lady Justice Macur's report is being considered.

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2015 to Question 19906, when he expects to publish Lady Justice Macur's report.

Caroline Dinenage: The report needs to be considered by law enforcement agencies and the government before it can be published. This includes considering whether redactions need to be made. Lady Justice Macur has recommended that certain material should be considered for redaction.The work is proceeding at pace with a view to publication as soon as possible.

Ministry of Justice: UK Membership of EU

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what contingency planning his Department is undertaking to prepare for the possibility of a leave vote in the forthcoming referendum on the UK's membership of the EU.

Dominic Raab: The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of the UK’s EU membership that cause so much frustration in Britain in order to get a better deal for Britain and secure our future. The Government is confident that the right agreement can be reached.

Civil Law: Advisory Services

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the recommendations of the Low Commission on formulating a national strategy for advice and legal support in England and Wales in the current Parliament.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The Ministry of Justice welcomes the work done by the Low Commission in producing its reports and recommendations, and we recognise the importance of advice being available in all contexts.As the Justice Secretary said in June 2015 we want to create a one nation justice system to work better for victims and to deliver faster and fairer justice for all citizens. We are discussing how this can be taken forward.

Personal Injury

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect on the operation of the new arrangements for obtaining medical reports in road traffic claims of the changes to personal injury law and procedure announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Dominic Raab: The measures announced in the Autumn Statement build on the Government’s previous reforms including, in particular, the MedCo system for obtaining independent medical reports which remains integral to the Government’s approach to tackling abuses in the whiplash claims process.The Government will consult on the detail of the new measures in due course and the consultation will be accompanied by an impact assessment.

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average length was of a social security appeal heard by an appeals tribunal in each year from 2010-11 to date.

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the length was of the longest social security appeal heard by an appeals tribunal for appeals lodged in each year from 2010-11 to date.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The First-tier Tribunal – Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) administered by HM Courts & Tribunals Service, hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions’ decisions on a range of benefits.1. Information about the timeliness of SSCS appeals is published by the Ministry of Justice in the Tribunals and Gender Recognition Certificate Statistics Quarterly. The data requested can be viewed at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.2. The following table provides the age in weeks of the oldest case cleared at a tribunal hearing in the years 2010/11 to 2014/15[1]:YearAge of the oldest case disposed of2009-103942010-113202011-124312012-136492013-143622014-15331A number of factors can influence the time it takes for an appeal to reach final conclusion. In particular, these data include the total elapsed time for cases which were heard, appealed to the Upper Tribunal, and subsequently reheard at the First-tier Tribunal. The age of one case at clearance in any one year does not reflect the experience of the vast majority of appellants.[1] The age of the oldest case disposed of in the period April to September 2015 (the latest period for which statistics have been published) has not been included as this only reflects a part-year.

Prime Minister

British Overseas Territories

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Prime Minister, when he last met or spoke to the head of government in each British Overseas Territory.

Mr David Cameron: I met elected leaders, ministers and representatives of all of the twelve inhabited British Overseas Territories at Downing Street in December 2012. I met the leaders of Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Gibraltar and Montserrat at Downing Street in June 2013, and the Gibraltar Chief Minister in August 2013.The Minister for the Overseas Territories, my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (Mr Duddridge), met the Overseas Territories’ elected leaders and representatives at the most recent Joint Ministerial Council in December 2015.In addition other members of the Foreign Office Ministerial team and Ministers from across Whitehall Departments regularly meet leaders of the Overseas Territories at the annual Joint Ministerial Council.

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Prime Minister, how many mental health services he has visited since May 2010; and what the (a) date and (b) location was of each such visit.

Mr David Cameron: Details of my visits within the United Kingdom are published on the gov.uk website.Most recently, on 11 January I visited Family Action in London where I announced £290 million of new investment over the next 5 years to provide mental healthcare for new mums, £247 million to invest in liaison mental health services in emergency departments, over £400 million to enable 24/7 treatment in communities as a safe and effective alternative to hospital and expanded services to help teenagers with eating disorders. This builds on previous government funding commitments for mental health over the last 12 months, including £150 million for young people with eating disorders and £1.25 billion for perinatal and children and young people’s mental health.

UK Membership of EU: Referendums

Wes Streeting: To ask the Prime Minister, what contingency planning the Civil Service is undertaking to prepare for the possibility of a leave vote in the forthcoming referendum on the UK's membership of the EU.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Prime Minister, what contingency arrangements 10 Downing Street has made for the eventuality of a majority leave vote in the upcoming EU referendum.

Mr David Cameron: The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our EU membership that cause so much frustration in the United Kingdom - so we can get a better deal for our country and secure our future. We are confident that the right agreement can be reached.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Deployment

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Written Statement of 17 December 2015, HC WS431, on UK Embedded Forces, what the (a) rank and (b) military unit is of the UK personnel embedded with (i) French and (ii) Spanish armed forces.

Michael Fallon: Embedded on operations with the French Armed Forces are two Lieutenants (Royal Navy), two Lieutenant Commanders, one Major, one Lieutenant Colonel, one Flight Lieutenant and one Squadron Leader. These come from all three Services of the UK Armed Forces and are supporting a wide range of French operations. The UK has a Royal Navy Lieutenant embedded with the Spanish armed forces on operations.For security reasons I am unable to provide details of the units or locations of the embedded personnel.

Cyprus: Asylum

Stuart C. McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment has been made of the health and wellbeing of refugees and asylum seekers who arrived at the UK Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus (a) in 1998 and (b) in October 2015; and what steps are being taken to support their health and wellbeing.

Penny Mordaunt: There is no requirement to carry out assessments of the refugees and asylum seekers who arrived in 1998 as arrangements for these individuals were made some time ago to have access to health facilities in the Republic of Cyprus as and when they require. Those occupying the Sovereign Base Areas (SBA) Transit Facility located in Dhekelia who arrived in the SBA on 21 October 2015 have regular access to medical, dental and other health facilities as required. Local non-governmental organisations have engaged with the migrants and offered psycho-social support including access to social workers and refugee specialists. The Republic of Cyprus has recently commenced an education package for children and adults at the facility. Separately, the International Committee of the Red Cross, British Red Cross and Cyprus Red Cross assessed health and wellbeing in November 2015.We have also had an official from the Department for International Development providing advice on the ground, to help us meet the refugees needs.

Aircraft Carriers

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure former aircraft carrier personnel do not become deskilled before the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers come into active service.

Penny Mordaunt: Comprehensive training programmes, including embedding personnel with the US and French Navies, ensure that skills are retained and developed in support of the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers coming into service.

Islamic State: Military Intervention

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what airstrikes have been conducted by the Royal Air Force against Daesh in the last three weeks.

Penny Mordaunt: The Royal Air Force has conducted 74 airstrikes against Daesh targets in Iraq and Syria between 16 December 2015 and 6 January 2016. Further details of the RAF's airstrikes against Daesh can be found on the gov.uk website:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/update-air-strikes-in-iraq

Armed Forces: Deployment

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 21 July 2015 to Question 8367, how many UK troops are embedded in (a) Syria, (b) Lebanon, (c) Libya, (d) Yemen, (e) Turkey and (g) USA.

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in which countries British military personnel are embedded.

Michael Fallon: I refer the hon. Member to my written ministerial statement of 17 December 2015, (Official Report, column 98WS) which sets out that we only centrally collate data on embedded forces with those nations with whom UK forces are embedded on operations, and to my letter of 6 January 2016 explaining that I am unable to specify the exact locations of UK personnel because this risks their personal security and the security of Allies' operations.



20151217 - WMS - UK Embedded Forces
(Word Document, 17.09 KB)

West Africa: Piracy

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps the armed forces are taking in cooperation with other countries to prevent piracy off the coast of West Africa.

Penny Mordaunt: Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships, as well as Short Term Training Teams (STTTs), work episodically to assist in building the capacity of maritime forces in West Africa in order that they may mitigate a range of security threats, including piracy. In 2015 HMS DRAGON, HMS LANCASTER and RFA GOLD ROVER delivered capacity-building training to maritime forces in Angola, Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Togo. In partnership with US maritime forces, STTTs conducted training in Angola, Cameroon, Gabon and Ghana while bilateral training was delivered in Mauritania, Morocco and Nigeria. In 2016/17 there are plans for RFA GOLD ROVER and HMS PORTLAND to continue these capacity building efforts and for an STTT to return to Nigeria.

Cyprus: Asylum

Stuart C. McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans the Government has to attempt to remove or deport refugees and asylum seekers at the the UK Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus to third countries.

Penny Mordaunt: Under Sovereign Base Areas legislation, people whose asylum claims fail are liable for deportation. Some applications for asylum in Cyprus are still being processed.We will seek to deport those who have not claimed asylum or have had their application rejected.

Ministry of Defence: Stokeon Trent

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many jobs in (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies, non-ministerial departments, advisory bodies and other accountable statutory bodies (i) have been abolished or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent since 2010 and (ii) will be abolished in or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent by 2020.

Mark Lancaster: This information is not held in the format requested.In April 2010 there were 20 Ministry of Defence (MOD) civilian personnel employed at locations within the Unitary Authority of Stoke-on-Trent; in October 2015 there were 10. All numbers are rounded.Full details of how the planned reductions in MOD civilian staff numbers announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review will be profiled over the next five years are not yet available and will be developed as programmes mature.

Royal Regiment of Scotland: Reserve Forces

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) establishment and (b) strength personnel of (i) 6 SCOTS and (ii) 7 SCOTS have failed a medical in each year from 2012 to 2015.

Mr Julian Brazier: Army medicals result in the allocation of a graded "medical deployability standard" reflecting those active roles for which personnel are declared fit. It is not a simple pass or fail. Unlike their regular counterparts, Army Reserve personnel do not undertake annual medical assessments. The only mandatory medicals are during the recruitment process and during mobilisation. The medical care of Reserve personnel lies with their General Practitioners and the National Health Service unless they are mobilised at which point the medical care responsibility transfers to the Defence Medical Services.

Fisheries: Protection

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which military assets provide fisheries protection within the UK's exclusive economic zone.

Penny Mordaunt: The River Class Offshore Patrol Vessels HMS TYNE and HMS SEVERN and the Survey Vessel HMS ECHO currently provide the Royal Navy's contribution to fishery protection duties within the United Kingdom's exclusive economic zone.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to build facilities to simulate the possibility of the future F35B Lightning II aircraft operating in austere operating bases.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence is procuring a Lightning II Integrated Training Centre (ITC) at its main operating base at RAF Marham. The ITC will house full mission simulators with the capability of simulating the full range of bases from which the F-35 may be required to operate.

Trident

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to publish the UK's Future Nuclear Deterrent: 2015 Update to Parliament.

Michael Fallon: A further update will be published this year.

Fisheries: Hebrides

Ian Blackford: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, further to his letter referenced MSU/4/5/8 which is placed in the Library, whether and to what timescale his Department plans to commission its own socio-economic report in addition to the economic impact assessment commissioned by the fishing community; if he will publish results of such a report; and what the implications of such work are for the timescales for determining the proposed byelaw changes for the inner sound between Raasay and the mainland.

Mark Lancaster: Work is currently being undertaken by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to produce a Socio-Economic Report for the Raasay Ranges. This is in addition to the assessment commissioned by the local fishing community. The MOD Report will be completed and made available in advance of the outcome of the Raasay Byelaw Review which is due to be finished later this year.

Burma: Armed Forces

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on whether any members of the Burmese army who have received training from the Government have been involved in military offensives in which war crimes have allegedly been committed against civilians.

Penny Mordaunt: We do not provide combat training to the Burmese army. We do provide educational training which in 2015 included the Managing Defence in a Wider Security Context and Strategic Leadership Programmes, both delivered by the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom in partnership with Cranfield University. In addition, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst delivered a Psychology of Leadership programme in Burma, and we have also provided English Language Training. We hold no information on whether any specific members of the Burmese Army who have received training from the UK have been involved in offensives in which war crimes may have been allegedly committed.

Ministry of Defence: Information Officers

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2016 to Question 20602, how many of the 183 Ministry of Defence public relations staff referred to are (a) based in Scotland, (b) have duties relating to Scotland.

Mark Lancaster: There are 12 Defence press and public relations posts based in Scotland, all of which have duties relating to Scotland.Royal Navy4Army4Royal Air Force4Defence press and public relations personnel provide a UK-wide service and therefore would deal with matters relating to Scotland when required.

Air Force: Staff

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment for the implications for his policy of the merits decision by the US Air Force to extend weight restrictions of F-35 Lightning II pilots until 2018; and whether his Department has issued similar guidelines for UK pilots.

Mr Philip Dunne: The UK has made its assessment of the implications of low speed ejection. A temporary weight restriction has been imposed for UK pilots, which does not constrain flight operations at this time. A range of design solutions are being developed and these are expected to be in place before the aircraft enters service in the UK.

Reserve Forces

Mr Jeffrey M. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to improve the attendance of reservists at weekly drills, training exercises and medical assessments.

Mr Julian Brazier: The majority of Reserve personnel train on a regular basis, effectively balancing their commitment to their Service with the competing demands of a busy modern life. The Ministry of Defence recognises and rewards reservists' commitment to our nation in various ways.We have provided better equipment, and more opportunities for interesting and challenging experiences, including exercises, adventurous training and overseas training.Volunteer reservists are paid for attendance at training and also receive a tax-exempt training bounty provided they fulfil their Service's annual training requirement including a two week camp or course. They have also received an annual paid leave entitlement since 1 April 2013.In addition, since April 2015, reservists have been eligible for the new Armed Forces Pension Scheme for non-mobilised service, based on paid attendance.These are just some examples of the actions the Department has taken to demonstrate that reservists are valued and valuable.

Ministry of Defence: UK Membership of EU

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what contingency planning his Department is undertaking to prepare for the possibility of a leave vote in the forthcoming referendum on the UK's membership of the EU.

Mr Julian Brazier: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 14 January 2016 to Question 21931.



UK Membership of EU: Referendums
(Word Document, 14.75 KB)

Department for Work and Pensions

Jobseeker's Allowance: Disqualification

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants of jobseeker's allowance in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK who have disputed the sanction of their benefit have had that sanction overturned after reconsideration in each of the past five years.

Priti Patel: The latest available information on Jobseeker’s Allowance sanctions, including the number of Mandatory Reconsiderations and Appeals, is published at:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/:Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started---SuperWEB2.htmlPlease note Mandatory reconsiderations were introduced in 28th October 2013.Information for Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Social Development. Northern Ireland statistics can be found at:http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research/benefit_publications.htm

Jobseeker's Allowance: Disqualification

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants of jobseeker's allowance in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK have received a sanction of their benefit in each of the last five years.

Priti Patel: The latest available information on Jobseeker’s Allowance sanctions, including the number of Mandatory Reconsiderations and Appeals, is published at:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/:Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started---SuperWEB2.htmlPlease note Mandatory reconsiderations were introduced in 28th October 2013.Information for Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Social Development. Northern Ireland statistics can be found at:http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research/benefit_publications.htm

Offshore Fixed Structures: North Sea

Callum McCaig: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will investigate the circumstances surrounding the leak of natural gas at the Brae Alpha platform of 26 December 2015; and what steps he plans to take to ensure that a similar incident does not occur on that platform or any other offshore installation.

Justin Tomlinson: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is investigating the circumstances of the leak of natural gas from the Brae Alpha platform on 26th December 2015. It will ensure any lessons to be learnt to prevent a recurrence are shared with the operators of this and other platforms in the sector. If necessary it can use its formal enforcement powers to address significant shortcomings in systems and arrangements to manage risks.

Social Security Benefits: Personal Injury

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to proposed changes in personal injury law and procedure announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what assessment he has made of the level of potential reduction in recoupment of social security benefits paid to personal injury victims following such changes; and if he will make a statement.

Justin Tomlinson: DWP officials have been working with the Ministry of Justice to assess the potential impact of the proposed changes to personal injury legislation on the level of recoupment of social security benefits paid by the compensator to DWP. The early analysis indicates that the vast majority of personal injury victims who claim compensation for whiplash do not claim DWP benefits which are recoverable under the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997. Therefore, if this trend continues, the potential changes to the personal injury legislation will have a minimal impact on the level of recoupment of social security benefits. DWP officials will continue to work with the Ministry of Justice as the proposed changes to personal injury legislation are developed and progressed.

Vetting: Fees and Charges

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the extent to which jobseekers required to obtain a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check to take up new work can afford to do so; and if he will estimate the cost of jobcentres providing financial support for people in need of a DBS check.

Priti Patel: Employers have legal responsibility for ensuring that their current and future workforce is not barred from working with children or vulnerable adults. It is reasonable to expect employers to pay for these Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) checks. DWP recognises there may be exceptional circumstances in which it is appropriate for Jobcentre Plus to reimburse the cost through the Flexible Support Fund if this will ensure a claimant can start a job.

Offshore Industry: Safety

Callum McCaig: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Health and Safety Executive on ensuring reductions in operators' production costs do not adversely affect the safety of offshore workers in the oil and gas industry.

Justin Tomlinson: I have had discussions with Health and Safety Executive (HSE) officials on the range of factors affecting offshore safety. HSE has confirmed that it is placing increasing emphasis upon maintenance standards as part of its interventions at offshore installations. I support this approach.

Funeral Payments

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has any plans to change the social fund funeral payment in the next 12 months.

Justin Tomlinson: The Government continually looks to improve its service. For example, in 2015 informal discussions have already taken place with stakeholders, including the National Association of Funeral Directors, representatives from life assurance companies, academics and advice services on possible improvements. These discussions carry on and there is a current focus on how to improve information on eligibility.

Department for Work and Pensions: Information Officers

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many press and public relations staff are employed by his Department; how many of those employees are paid more than (a) £50,000 and (b) £100,000; and what the total expenditure was on press and public relations by his Department in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Justin Tomlinson: As of January 2016 there are 34 members of staff in the Press Office, this includes 11 members of the digital team. Seven are paid more than £50,000, and none are paid more than £100,000. In 2014/15 total Press Office staff costs were £1,316,780.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that benefit claimants who are sanctioned receive a written notification of the sanction before their benefit payment is withdrawn.

Priti Patel: We recently reintroduced automated sanction notifications (from Monday 23rd November 2015) to ensure that all claimants who are sanctioned receive a written notification of the sanction.

Employment and Support Allowance: Severe Disability Premium

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many recipients in the (a) work related activity group and (b) support group were also in receipt of the severe disability premium in (i) 2013-14, (ii) 2014-15 and (iii) 2015-16 to date.

Priti Patel: The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Tennis: Children

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what funding his Department provides to promote tennis for children under 10 years.

Tracey Crouch: Government are committed to providing the best sporting opportunities for children. DCMS leads the School Games programme which involves the Youth Sport Trust and Sport England working with 38 of the National Governing Bodies of Sports, including the Tennis Foundation, to support schools in delivering competitions for all children. In addition, our Sports Strategy, published in December 2015, has enabled Sport England to fund sport for children from the age of 5 onwards.

Gaming Machines

Callum McCaig: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will commission independent research on the effect of fixed-odds betting terminals on the health of their users and on the communities in which they are prevalent.

Tracey Crouch: The Responsible Gambling Strategy Board (RGSB), was set up to by the Gambling Commission to advise on priorities for research relating to responsible gambling. Research into gambling related harm is commissioned by the independent charity, the Responsible Gambling Trust (RGT), taking into account the priorities set out by the RGSB. At the request of the RGSB, the RGT is currently commissioning research to define Gambling Related Harm which will consider the wider health impacts of problem gambling. The Government continues to encourage such research.

Gaming Machines: Scotland

Callum McCaig: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of devolving to the Scottish Parliament all aspects of (a) gaming and betting legislation, (b) including curbing the terminals' speed of play and maximum stakes for fixed-odds betting terminals and (c) other regulation of fixed-odds betting terminals.

Tracey Crouch: The Scotland Bill will give the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Ministers the power to vary the number of sub-category B2 gaming machines (FOBTs) permitted by new betting premises licences. The UK Government will retain the equivalent powers on FOBTs for the rest of the UK, except for Northern Ireland where gambling is a devolved matter.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Local Government: Lobbying

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Written Statement of 23 February 2015, HCW5292, if he will extend the anti-sock puppet clause to cover the issuing of grants and contracts made by local authorities in respect to the activities of third parties.

Mr Marcus Jones: It is for local authorities to decide how to disburse their funds, and what if any conditions to attach to any grants or contributions they make available, in accordance with the functions Parliament has given them and their duties to secure value for money in the use of taxpayers’ money.Local authorities are accountable to their electorate, including for their use of taxpayers’ money and any member of the public with a concern about the way in which a local authority is using public money should take the matter up with the local authority directly, or contact the local authority’s independent auditor.We will keep these matters under review and are open to representations on this issue.

Counter-terrorism: Freedom of Information

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities on responding to requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 that relate to the Prevent strategy.

Mr Marcus Jones: My Department has not issued any guidance to local authorities on this matter. Home Office is the lead Department for the Prevent strategy.

Local Government: Publicity

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2015 to Question 16795, if he will undertake an assessment of activities by third parties fully funded by local authorities designed to influence Government and Parliament; and if he will extend the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity to cover such groups.

Mr Marcus Jones: We have continually made clear that local authorities should not be using taxpayers’ money to lobby Government; not least because they are free to contact Ministers and Members of Parliament to make their views known and indeed many do so on a regular basis. This is reflected in the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity.

Social Services: Finance

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the amount that will be raised in each local authority by the two per cent social care precept in the first year of its operation.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 of 26 November 2015 (Cm9162) estimates that if all local authorities use the adult social care precept to its maximum effect, it could raise nearly £2 billion a year by 2019-20. In the first year of its operation, we estimate that it would raise nearly £400 million.https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/479749/52229_Blue_Book_PU1865_Web_Accessible.pdf

Social Services: Finance

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on what local government services can be funded by the two per cent social care precept.

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he plans that the two per cent social care precept will be ring-fenced for particular items of expenditure.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Chancellor’s Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 (Cm9162), presented to Parliament on 26 November 2015, makes clear that the two per cent social care precept must be spent entirely on adult social care.

Housing: Older People

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent representations his Department has received about exit fees from retirement homes and villages; and if he will bring forward legislative proposals to regulate such fees.

Brandon Lewis: Following representations on this issue and an investigation by The Office of Fair Trading (now the Competition and Markets Authority) in 2013, my Department passed this issue to the Law Commission to investigate in 2014. Their remit was to consider the problems caused by exit fees, consider whether greater protections were needed, and to make recommendations to Government. The Law Commissioners issued a consultation, which is due to close on 29 January; I would urge all interested parties to respond to this.Once the Law Commission has completed its work the Government will consider any recommendations and respond as appropriate.

Flood Control: Salford

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what additional flood support Salford City Council is likely to receive; when such support will be granted; what such support will cover; and how such support can be accessed.

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what support will be provided to offset the costs incurred by Salford City Council as a result of flooding which are not covered by the Bellwin scheme.

James Wharton: Funding to local authorities affected by flooding is provided through section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003 which gives local authorities flexibility to design their own locally tailored support packages, based on local need, to help individuals, small and medium-sized businesses and communities return to normality quickly.Salford City Council received an advance communities and business recovery scheme grant of £526,320 on 29 December 2015 and a further communities and business recovery scheme grant of £931,921 on 8 January 2016. In addition Salford City Council received £279,297 for council tax discounts and £244,215 for business rate relief on 8 January to assist households’ and businesses’ recovery following Storm Eva. Second tranche payments on 8 January were based on the number of flooded properties reported to the Government by Salford City Council on 7 January. The Government will process further payments to assist local authorities’ flood recovery support schemes once a fully reconciled figure is provided by a local authority of the number of households and businesses flooded.The communities and business grant, business rate relief and council tax discount recovery payments made to Salford City Council are separate to the Bellwin scheme which has been activated to reimburse local authorities for eligible costs incurred on, or in connection with, their emergency response to flooding caused by the recent severe weather. The Bellwin grant will be available at 100% above the 0.2% revenue threshold of Salford City Council.

Parking Offences: Fines

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department issues to the private parking industry on the appropriate levels of penalties for motorists.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Government does not issue guidance to the private parking industry on the levels of penalties for motorists. The private parking sector currently operates on a model of self-regulation, and parking companies predominantly obtain access to DVLA data by being a member of one of the two Accredited Trade Associations. These Trade Associations set out in their codes of practice that the maximum level should be no more than £100. Both Trade Associations suggest their members offer a reduced rate of at least 40% if payment is made within 14 days of the issue of the charge notice.

Supported Housing: Housing Benefit

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2015 to Question 19365, on supported housing, if he will place the remit of the evidence review in the Library.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2015 to Question 19365, on housing benefit, (a) when the evidence review began, (b) who has been commissioned to undertake that review and (c) when he expects that review to be published.

Brandon Lewis: A copy of the specification for the review has been put in the Library of the House.The Review began in January 2015. The Department of Work and Pensions and the Department for Communities and Local Government commissioned Ipsos MORI in partnership with Imogen Blood and Associates and Housing and Support Partnership Limited to undertake the evidence review. The report will be published later this year.

Supported Housing: Housing Benefit

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what consultation his Department has undertaken with councils with statutory responsibility for vulnerable people in supported housing (a) before and (b) since the announcement that housing benefit for tenants in supported housing will be capped at the local rate of local housing allowance.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what consultation his Department has undertaken with organisations that provide supported housing for vulnerable people (a) before and (b) since the announcement that housing benefit for tenants in supported housing will be capped at the local rate of local housing allowance.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what organisations he has met to discuss the introduction of the capping of housing benefit for tenants in supported housing at the local rate of local housing allowance.

Brandon Lewis: Ministers from the Department of Communities and Local Government and the Department of Work and Pensions regularly consult with a wide range of organisations as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Ministers and officials from both Departments are meeting relevant organisations from all sectors.

Communities and Local Government: Stoke on Trent

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many jobs in (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies, non-ministerial departments, advisory bodies and other accountable statutory bodies (i) have been abolished or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent since 2010 and (ii) will be abolished in or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent by 2020.

Brandon Lewis: No jobs in either my Department or each of its non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies, non-ministerial departments, advisory bodies and other accountable statutory bodies have been abolished or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent since 2010 or will be abolished in or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent by 2020.

Supported Housing

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the likely number of (a) new tenants and (b) tenancies in supported housing in each of the next five years.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many (a) frail elderly people, (b) young people leaving care, (c) women fleeing domestic violence, (d) people recovering from alcohol and substance misuse, (e) people with mental health issues and (f) people with physical or learning disabilities live in supported housing and are eligible for housing benefit.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people who live in supported housing are eligible for housing benefit.

Brandon Lewis: The Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department of Work and Pensions have jointly commissioned the Supported Accommodation Review to better understand the scale, shape and cost of supported accommodation. The Review will provide more robust and up-to-date information relating to supported housing, including the principal user groups. The Review will report later this year.

Private Rented Housing: Energy

Dr   Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2015 to Question 19268, what (a) financial penalties and (b) other mechanisms are available to ensure that all private rented properties have an energy efficiency certificate.

Brandon Lewis: It is the duty of every local weights and measures authority to enforce the requirements of the Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012, as amended.The attached table summarises the penalties that may be imposed by the enforcement authority or its authorised officer for breaches of the regulations regarding Energy Performance Certificates through serving a penalty charge notice. These are the financial penalties that are available to ensure that all private rented properties, both domestic and non-domestic, have an energy efficiency certificate.Private sector landlords cannot serve a section 21 eviction notice on their tenant in respect of a property that was rented out since 1 October 2015 if they failed to provide their tenant with an Energy Performance Certificate at the start of the tenancy.



Table
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Floods: Cumbria

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what criteria were used to determine who in South Lakeland was entitled to £500 flood compensation payments.

James Wharton: South Lakeland District Council are responsible for determining the criteria for distribution and entitlement to the £500 flood compensation payments.The funding came from a central government funding scheme (the Communities and Business Recovery Scheme) for Cumbria and Lancashire flood affected households.

Property Development: Flood Control

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, by what mechanism residents can challenge a local authority's assessment of the adequacy of drainage systems for a new housing development where they believe it will contribute to additional flooding in an area which has recently flooded.

Brandon Lewis: There are strict tests in the National Planning Policy Framework to protect people and property from flooding, and we are very clear that where these tests are not met new development should not be allowed.The Framework must be taken into account in the preparation of local plans, drawn up by local councils in consultation with local communities, which should steer inappropriate development away from areas at risk of flooding. Local Plans should be supported by Strategic Flood Risk Assessment and develop policies to manage flood risk from all sources, taking account of advice from the Environment Agency and other relevant flood risk management bodies. A Local Plan must be published for consultation before it can be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for examination. This provides a formal opportunity for the local community to consider the local plan which the local planning authority would like to adopt.For planning applications, local planning authorities are also required to undertake a formal period of public consultation prior to making a decision. When determining planning applications in flood risk areas, the Framework is clear on the importance of demonstrating that the development will be safe, resilient and not increase flood risk elsewhere. The Framework also sets out when applications should be supported by a site-specific flood risk assessment. These assessments provide a source of information for local residents together with representations on proposed development from flood risk management bodies. Planning law requires that planning applications must be determined in accordance with the development plan for the area, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The Framework is a material consideration in planning decisions, as are the planning concerns of residents.

Property Development: Flood Control

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if his Department will review the guidelines on sustainable drainage system requirements under planning policy for new developments in areas with recorded incidents of flooding; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: There are strict tests in national planning policy and guidance to protect people and property from flooding. The National Planning Policy Framework is very clear that new development should only be considered appropriate in areas at risk of flooding where it gives priority to the use of sustainable drainage systems. The Framework is underpinned by planning guidance, including guidance on sustainable drainage systems which was strengthened last year.

Council Housing

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken to increase the amount of housing stock owned by councils; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: Local housing authorities have a wide range of discretion in building and running their housing stock. The Housing Revenue Account self-financing settlement was a good deal for local authorities; it put them in charge of their own finances and allowed them to decide how they wanted to invest in both their existing stock and in new council homes.Local housing authorities have accumulated general housing revenue account reserves of almost £2.5 billion (in addition to over £1billion in the Major Repairs Reserve) and have borrowing headroom approaching £3.4 billion. In addition, almost £222 million of extra borrowing headroom has been allocated to 36 councils in England to specifically support around 3,000 new affordable homes in 2015/16 and 2016/17.More council housing has been built since 2010 than in the previous 13 years. 2014 saw the highest number of council housing starts for 23 years.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Information Officers

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many press and public relations staff are employed by his Department; how many of those employees paid more than (a) £50,000 and (b) £100,000; and what the total expenditure was on press and public relations by his Department in the most recent year for which figures are available.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

HM Treasury

Alcoholic Drinks: Sales

Andrew Stephenson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the sale of illegally-produced alcohol in shops.

Damian Hinds: The Government is committed to tackling alcohol fraud. Alcohol producers have to be licensed or gain approval by HMRC to operate. Illegal production is off-record and often involves the counterfeiting of established alcohol brands; chiefly spirits.Detections of illegally produced alcohol in shops are low. However, because of the potentially serious health consequences of consumption, vigilance by enforcement agencies and the public is crucial.HMRC responds robustly to all discoveries of illegal production of alcohol and works collaboratively with other enforcement agencies such as Local Authority Trading Standards and the Police, to tackle the sale of counterfeit alcohol. As well as exchanging intelligence, HMRC and Trading Standards Officers take part in joint exercises targeting retailers in specific regions to detect illegal products. Agencies working together can bring a broader range of sanctions and penalties against those who chose to flout the laws.Sales of alcohol that are suspected to be illegally produced, counterfeit or untaxed can be reported to HMRC by using hotline number 0800 595 000, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Treasury: UK Membership of EU

Stephen Gethins: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to prepare for the outcome of the EU referendum.

Mr David Gauke: The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our EU membership that cause so much frustration in Britain - so we get a better deal for Britain and secure our future. The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation: it believes it can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU.

Affordable Housing: Greater London

Andrew Rosindell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to increase the affordability of homes in the Greater London area for people under the age of 30.

Greg Hands: The Government is committed to making the aspiration of home ownership a reality for as many households as possible. At the Spending Review the Government announced a series of measures which will help people under 30 in Greater London and elsewhere become homeowners.These include plans to deliver 200,000 Starter Homes to be sold at a 20% discount to first time buyers under 40 and 135,000 Help to Buy: Shared Ownership homes. Government also announced that it will introduce London Help to Buy, increasing the value of Help to Buy equity loans in London to 40% from 25%, as well as extending the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme for a further year to 2021. These schemes are also supported by the recently launched Help to Buy: ISA, through which the Government tops up mortgage deposit savings for first time buyers by up to £3,000.

Revenue and Customs: ICT

Sir David Amess: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many IT contractors were employed by HM Revenue and Customs on a self-employed basis in 2015.

Mr David Gauke: There were no IT contractors employed on a self-employed basis in 2015.

Interest Rates

Andrew Rosindell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the (a) potential effect on the UK economy of the decision by the US Federal Reserve to raise US interest rates and (b) potential effect of this decision on interest rates in the UK.

Harriett Baldwin: Higher US interest rates are a sign of confidence in the US economy, whose strong recovery has supported demand as the world’s largest economy and UK’s closest economic and financial partner. The UK’s monetary policy framework, set out in the Bank of England Act 1998, gives operational responsibility for monetary policy to the independent Monetary Policy Committee. Decisions on setting Bank Rate are for the judgement of the MPC.

Overseas Trade: Switzerland

Andrew Rosindell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the value of trade between the UK and Switzerland was in (a) 2014 and (b) 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK had a trade surplus with Switzerland in 2014 of £10.3bn. The value of total UK exports to Switzerland in 2014 was £21.6bn, and the value of UK imports from Switzerland was £11.3bn.Latest available data for 2015 shows that the UK had a trade surplus of £5.6bn with Switzerland in the first three quarters of 2015, with total exports of £14.4bn and imports of £8.9bn.

Tax Avoidance

Tulip Siddiq: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many courts cases HM Revenue and Customs has initiated for tax abuse under the General Anti-Abuse Rule since its introduction; and how many people or companies found to have committed tax abuse under this Rule have been charged penalties.

Mr David Gauke: The General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR) was introduced in July 2013, and only applies to abusive tax arrangements entered into from this date.This means that it will first apply to income tax returns for the tax year ending 5 April 2014, which must have been filed with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) by 31 January 2015. For corporation tax, returns are based on a company’s accounting period so, for example, returns for accounting periods ending 30 September 2013 have to be submitted to HMRC by the end of September 2014.For cases to be tackled by the GAAR, HMRC must first enquire into tax returns once they are received, and gather all relevant facts. It is therefore early in the process of litigation action for cases to be tackled by the GAAR.Nonetheless, the Government is committed to continually deterring the persistent minority from engaging in tax avoidance. As announced at Autumn Statement 2015, a penalty of 60% of the tax due for all cases tackled by the GAAR will be introduced in Finance Bill 2016.

Tax Avoidance

Tulip Siddiq: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many tax avoidance schemes are registered with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) under (a) the disclosure regime for VAT and (b) the disclosure of tax avoidance schemes; how many individuals are registered with each of those schemes; how many (i) individuals and (ii) schemes HMRC has estimated will be issued with accelerated payment notices (APNs) in (A) 2014-15, (B) 2015-16 and (C) 2016-17; and how many (1) individuals and (2) schemes HMRC has issued with APNs.

Mr David Gauke: Statistics in connection with the Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Scheme (DOTAS) and VAT Avoidance Regime are published on the GOV.UK website. The most recent figures, which are due to be updated shortly, are available to view at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/379821/HMRC_-_Tax_avoidance_disclosure_statistics_1_Aug_2004_to_30_Sept_2014.pdf.

Tax Avoidance

Tulip Siddiq: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints the Counter-Avoidance Intelligence Team has received about tax avoidance in each year since 2009-10.

Mr David Gauke: The HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Counter-Avoidance DOTAS Taskforce Risk Team receive and review referrals from a variety of different sources in connection with marketed tax avoidance. The information is not held in a numeric format that enables complaints to be distinguished.

Tax Avoidance

Tulip Siddiq: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many penalties have been issued by HM Revenue and Customs to (a) scheme promoters and (b) their clients for non-disclosure of tax avoidance schemes in each year since 2009-10 under the (i) disclosure regime for VAT and (ii) Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes regime.

Mr David Gauke: The penalty regime for the VAT Avoidance Disclosure Regime (VADR) differs from the requirements laid under the Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes (DOTAS) regulations, in that it is the user of a scheme that is required to make a disclosure to HM Revenue and Customs rather than the scheme promoter.While the provision exists for promoters to make Voluntary Notifications and receive a disclosure reference to provide to their clients, the penalty regime does not extend to disclosures made in these circumstances.The information requested in respect of the DOTAS regime is only available at a disproportionate cost.

Tax Avoidance

Tulip Siddiq: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people have challenged HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in court following the issue of an Accelerated Payment Notice (APN) for their alleged role in a tax avoidance scheme since the APN system came into force; and in such cases (a) on how many occasions the courts have found against HMRC and (b) what the total value is of tax paid back with interest to people who have won.

Mr David Gauke: There has been one substantive hearing of a Judicial Review challenging Accelerated Payment notices (APN) which had in the region of 150 claimants. The case was decided in HM Revenue and Customs’ favour. Some of the claimants have since appealed to the Court of Appeal. Their appeal is due to be heard in December 2016.

Treasury: Information Officers

Diana Johnson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many press and public relations staff are employed by (a) his Department, (b) the Office for Budget Responsibility, (c) the Financial Conduct Authority and (d) HM Revenue and Customs; how many of those employees earn more than (i) £50,000 and (ii) £100,000; and what the total expenditure was on press and public relations by each of those organisations in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Harriett Baldwin: I refer the honourable member to the answer given on the 05 January (UIN 20609)

Islamic State: Finance

Andrew Rosindell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2015 to Question 20068, how many British-based individuals have breached the sanctions regime against Daesh; and how many bank accounts have been frozen in the UK as part of the efforts by the UN and the Government to prevent funds from being transferred to Daesh.

Harriett Baldwin: The UN sanctions regime against Daesh includes not just financial sanctions, but also a travel ban against listed individuals and entities, as well as an arms embargo, prohibitions on travel to act as a foreign terrorist fighter, an oil embargo, and other form of restriction. HM Treasury is responsible for the administration of financial sanctions in the UK, in relation to those individuals or entities designated under one of the counter terrorism financial sanctions regimes, which include the UK’s domestic terrorist asset freezing regime, the EU’s external terrorism regime and the UN’s ISIL (Daesh) & Al Qaida regime.The UN ISIL (Daesh) & Al Qaida Regime is implemented in the UK by way of EU Regulation 881/2002. Information held by HM Treasury in relation to breaches of this regime is received for the purposes of compliance and enforcement of this Regulation. The Regulation prohibits the use of that information for any purpose other than compliance and enforcement, and as a result HM Treasury is unable to release information held on the number of British-based individuals that have breached the financial sanctions regime against Daesh. The Treasury works closely with operational partners on the compliance and enforcement of financial sanctions regimes.HM Treasury publishes a Quarterly Report to Parliament on the operation of the counter terrorism financial sanctions regimes in the UK. The next report is due to be published soon, for the fourth quarter of 2015. The report includes the number of bank accounts that are frozen for each regime. It is located at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/operation-of-the-uks-counter-terrorist-asset-freezing-regime-quarterly-report-to-parliament.I can confirm that the last Quarterly Report stated there are 55 accounts frozen under the UK’s domestic terrorist asset freezing regime, and 21 accounts are frozen in the UK under the UN’s ISIL (Daesh) and Al Qaida regime.

Housing Benefit: Supported Housing

John Healey: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what organisations he has met to discuss the introduction of the capping of housing benefit for tenants in supported housing at the local rate of local housing allowance.

Damian Hinds: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-giftsand-overseas-travel The lead department for this measure, the Department for Work and Pensions, has regular meetings with relevant organisations and will meet with them to discuss how the application of local housing allowance rates to social sector tenants, including those living in supported housing, will work as the policy is developed.

Banks

Paul Flynn: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the chairman of the Financial Conduct Authority on that body's decision not to undertake its planned review of banking culture.

Harriett Baldwin: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is an independent regulator. Treasury Ministers had no discussions with the chairman before the FCA announced the decision to discontinue the review of banking culture included in the 2015-16 Business Plan. The FCA has set out in its published response to a Freedom of Information request, the dates when it communicated its decision to discontinue this review to other organisations. This response is available on the FCA website.

National Savings Bonds: Pensioners

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to introduce a further savings bond for people over 65.

Harriett Baldwin: 65+ Guaranteed Growth Bonds were a special issue aimed at helping pensioners who rely on their savings in retirement. There are currently no plans for a further issue.

Money Lenders

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2016 to Question 21408, when the Government plans to reach a decision on funding for the National Illegal Money Lending Team.

Harriett Baldwin: The Government is continuing to explore options to ensure that the England and Wales Illegal Money Lending Teams have the funding they need to ensure that consumers continue to be protected from illegal loan sharks as a matter of urgency.

Debts

Seema Malhotra: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to address the forecast rise in household debt as defined by the Office for Budget Responsibility on page 69 of its November 2015 report, the Economic and Fiscal Outlook.

Harriett Baldwin: To avoid repeating the mistakes of the past we have created the independent Financial Policy Committee (FPC) within the Bank of England to ensure emerging risks and vulnerabilities across the financial system as a whole are identified, monitored and effectively addressed. The FPC has taken action on loan-to-income ratios and mortgage affordability to ensure against a significant rise in the number of highly indebted households.

Debts

Seema Malhotra: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received since September 2015 on the level of household debt; and on what dates he received those representations.

Harriett Baldwin: The government has taken action on household debt by establishing the independent Financial Policy Committee (FPC) within the Bank of England to ensure emerging risks and vulnerabilities across the financial system as a whole are identified, monitored and effectively addressed.

Debts

Seema Malhotra: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received since September 2015 on (a) consumer debt and (b) personal loans.

Harriett Baldwin: The Government has fundamentally reformed the regulation of consumer credit, transferring regulatory responsibility from the Office of Fair Trading to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA regime has been designed to strike the right balance between proportionality and consumer protection. The Government has ensured that the FCA has robust powers to protect consumers.Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with, and receive letters from, a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel

Treasury: Cardiff

Stephen Doughty: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether any of the costs associated with events that he spoke at on 7 January 2016 at (a) St David's Hotel and (b) Salt Bar were met from the public purse.

Stephen Doughty: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many civil servants attended his speeches at (a) St David's Hotel and (b) Salt Bar on 7 January 2016.

Stephen Doughty: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether invitations to the event at which he spoke on 7 January 2016 at St David's Hotel were issued by his Department.

Stephen Doughty: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many civil servants accompanied him on his visit to Cardiff on 7 January 2016.

Harriett Baldwin: Consistent with all official events, the Chancellor was supported by a small number of officials from his private office and the Treasury press office when speaking at the St David’s hotel and at the two associated visits.Costs associated with the major economy speech at the St David’s hotel in Cardiff were met within the existing events budget at HM Treasury. Invitations were not issued by the department.The event at the Salt Bar was not a Government event and so no costs were met by the Treasury and no civil servants attended.

Pay

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of average annual pay growth in (a) 2016, (b) 2017, (c) 2018, (d) 2019 and (e) 2020.

Harriett Baldwin: The Office for Budget Responsibility provide the Government with estimates for annual pay growth. The table below sets out their forecast growth in average earnings for the years requested.YearAverage earnings growth (per cent)20163.420173.720183.620193.720203.9

Liquefied Petroleum Gas: Excise Duties

Ben Howlett: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will remove the fuel duty escalator on liquefied petroleum gas.

Damian Hinds: The Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) differential reduces by 1 penny per litre per year, which is a continuation of the approach set out by the two previous Administrations. This reflects the greater natural environmental damage caused by LPG compared with other road fuel gases as outlined in the 2003 Alternative Fuels Framework. However, like all taxes, fuel duties are kept under review with the Government announcing any changes at fiscal events.

Treasury: UK Membership of EU

Wes Streeting: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what contingency planning his Department is undertaking to prepare for the possibility of a leave vote in the forthcoming referendum on the UK's membership of the EU.

Mr David Gauke: The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our EU membership that cause so much frustration in the United Kingdom - so we can get a better deal for our country and secure our future. We are confident that the right agreement can be reached.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Electricity: Distribution

Ian Blackford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will take steps to (a) end the 14 regional markets for electricity distribution and (b) introduce a national market for electricity distribution.

Andrea Leadsom: Electricity distribution network charges vary by region and reflect the costs of running the network in that area and the number of consumers that those costs are spread over. The Government does not plan to move to national electricity distribution charging, as the current cost reflective approach helps to ensure efficient use of the network and keeps overall costs down for bill payers across Great Britain. In contrast, national pricing risks an overall increase in network costs by weakening each network company’s local accountability to its customers, as well as making charges less transparent. On 23 October 2015, Ofgem published a report on the regional differences in network charges, which found no compelling case from a regulatory perspective to move to a national network charge. The report is available at:https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/regional-differences-network-charges.The Government will continue to consider any evidence that is presented.Whilst the Government believes that, in general, cost reflective charging represents the right approach, it is right to consider intervention if one region has markedly different charging levels to any other. This forms the rationale for our Hydro Benefit Replacement Scheme, which protects consumers in the North of Scotland from the very high electricity distribution charges that would otherwise occur. The scheme is providing an annual assistance amount of £57m in 2015/16, which equates to £41 per household in the North of Scotland. The cost of providing this discount is recovered from consumers across the whole of Great Britain.

Energy: Prices

Dr Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if her Department will liaise with Ofgem in taking steps to ensure that savings accrued to suppliers are returned to consumers in lower prices.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department for Energy and Climate Change has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what contingency plans her Department has put in place in the event of one or more stakeholders in the Hinkley Point C project being unable to raise sufficient funding to complete development.

Andrea Leadsom: The funding of Hinkley Point C is a commercial matter for the parties involved. However, the agreements between EDF and CGN announced in October 2015 show the commitment of all sides to the project. EDF and CGN have confirmed major investment in Hinkley Point C and are working to rapidly conclude the detailed investment documentation.My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State expects to be in a position to take her final decision on the Contract for Difference and associated agreements for Hinkley Point C once the documentation relating to equity investment into the project is finalised.

Cabinet Office

Civil Contingencies Secretariat

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will direct the civil contingencies secretariat to ensure there is liaison with the devolved nations on best practice procedures in its area of practice.

Mr Oliver Letwin: The Cabinet Office Civil Contingencies Secretariat routinely works with the devolved administrations, including in the sharing of best practice. They are represented on official-level governance boards that cover all the key areas of resilience, including risk assessment, protection of critical national infrastructure, and capability planning. There are also established arrangements in place for linking the UK Government’s emergency co-ordination structures with those in the devolved nations, to ensure a co-ordinated response.

Zero Hours Contracts

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people have been employed on a zero-hours contract in (a) Mid Sussex constituency, (b) West Sussex, (c) the South East and (d) the UK in each year since 2008.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Letter to Member - Zero Hour Contracts
(PDF Document, 281.08 KB)

Civil Servants: Job Satisfaction

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2015 to Question 17801, what the evidential basis is for his statement that civil service job satisfaction remains high and wellbeing has increased.

Matthew Hancock: The Civil Service People Survey provides annual data on staff engagement and wellbeing. The survey, which is undertaken each October, had 279,653 individuals in 96 organisations respond in 2015.The latest results show that we continue to see high scores for questions on whether people are interested in their work (89%), have the skills they need to do their job (88%) and are trusted to do their job effectively (88%). We can also see that measures of life satisfaction, feeling worthwhile and happiness have increased since last year and are now all 3 percentage points above their initial 2012 position.More information can be found athttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-people-survey-2015-results

Cabinet Office: Pay

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many times he published data relating to his Department's staff salaries in the calendar year 2015.

Matthew Hancock: During the calendar year 2015, data relating to the salaries of staff in my Department was published on five occasions.

Cabinet Office: Internet

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2015 to Question 18409, whether the organogram on his Department's website is now up to date.

Matthew Hancock: The latest organogram for the Cabinet Office as at 30 September 2015 is available athttps://data.gov.uk/organogram/cabinet-office.

Death

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the five most common causes of deaths were in (a) England and Wales and (b) each London borough in (i) 2014, (ii) 2010, (iii) 2005 and (iv) 2000.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



Excel Attachment for Member
(Excel SpreadSheet, 234.5 KB)




UKSA Letter to Member - Causes of Death
(PDF Document, 65.49 KB)

Leukaemia

Jim Shannon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people were diagnosed with primary refractory acute megakaryoblastic leukaemia in each of the last five years.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Letter to Member - Acute Leukaemia
(PDF Document, 70.71 KB)

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Peat Bogs: Conservation

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much her Department has allocated for the maintenance and restoration of peatlands in 2016-17.

Rory Stewart: The Chancellor announced budgets for all Government Departments covering the Spending Review period (2016/17 to 2019/20) on 25 November 2015. Defra is currently deciding how this translates into internal allocations for both the core Department and its Network Bodies. Budget decisions for 2016/17 are expected to be confirmed before the end of February.

Hunting Act 2004

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her ministerial colleagues on the Hunting Act 2004.

Rory Stewart: The Secretary of State regularly discusses all relevant polices with her ministerial colleagues as part of the process of policy development and delivery.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Stoke on Trent

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many jobs in (a) her Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies, non-ministerial departments, advisory bodies and other accountable statutory bodies (i) have been abolished or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent since 2010 and (ii) will be abolished in or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent by 2020.

George Eustice: The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, its executive agencies non-ministerial departments, advisory bodies and other accountable statutory bodies have no offices in Stoke-on-Trent, and therefore no jobs have been abolished since 2010 nor are any to be abolished or relocated by 2020.

EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations her Department made to the recent meeting of the EU Fisheries and Agriculture Council; and for which species support was given at that meeting for quotas exceeding those recommended by scientific advice.

George Eustice: At the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council in December 2015 the UK Government supported quota setting in accordance with three high level objectives: to increase the number of stocks fished at sustainable levels, in particular the number fished at maximum sustainable yield (MSY) in 2016; to follow the available science, notably that from the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES); and to minimise discards in line with the landing obligation.With respect to stocks with full MSY assessments, the UK supported total allowable catches (TACs) higher than the ICES advice for Farn Deeps Nephrops and Eastern Channel sole, because new management measures had been developed which, when implemented, should deliver MSY by 2017 and 2019 respectively.

White Fish: Fishing Catches

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to publish sea bass landing data by metier for 2014.

George Eustice: The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) publishes annual data which includes total landings by UK vessels for bass in the UK Sea Fisheries Annual Statistics Report 2014. In conjunction with this report, the MMO publishes two more detailed datasets online which show bass landings by, for example, year, month, port of landing, vessel nationality, gear category, over/under 10m, area and rectangle. This information is available at the link below.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/uk-sea-fisheries-annual-statistics-report-2014.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Departmental Responsibilities

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the (a) title and (b) total cost is of each (i) ongoing and (ii) completed major risk assessment relating to her Department's main responsibilities over the last five years.

George Eustice: The information requested could only be given at disproportionate cost.A number of risk assessments are routinely published, particularly assessments associated with international animal disease outbreaks, and can be accessed here:www.gov.uk/government/collections/animal-diseases-international-monitoring

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Information Officers

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many press and public relations staff are employed by her Department; how many of those employees are paid more than (a) £50,000 and (b) £100,000; and what the total expenditure was on press and public relations by her Department in the most recent year for which figures are available.

George Eustice: Defra is in the midst of a transformation programme which is yielding significant reductions in communication staff.Defra currently employs 41 full time staff to deliver press and public relations. Nine staff are paid over £50,000 per annum. No staff are paid over £100,000 per annum.Our controls on communication spending have saved over £1million in 2015/16. The total committed expenditure for Defra’s press and public relations programme for 2015/16 is £46,761.

Flood Control: Leeds

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish the evidential basis that underpinned the decision on the allocation of funding to Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the Leeds flood defence scheme in 2011.

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of flood defence spending in Leeds.

Rory Stewart: A proposal for a £188 million flood alleviation scheme for central Leeds was submitted to Defra in January 2010. The proposal was analysed and a number of concerns were identified. As a result of that analysis the Environment Agency agreed to work with Leeds City Council to consider alternatives. The City Council subsequently submitted a bid for the first phase of a phased scheme. We have committed £33 million to better protect Leeds City Centre, benefitting thousands of homes and businesses. No bid has yet been made for further phases.Whenever an exceptional event happens it is important to review what happened and how to prepare for the future, and the Environment Agency will be doing this following the recent flooding incident. The flood response in Yorkshire will be overseen by Transport Minister Robert Goodwill, who has been appointed as Flooding Envoy to the county and will track progress on recovery and identify lessons learnt.Work has also already started on the National Resilience Review, which is considering forecasting and modelling, resilience of key infrastructure and the way we make decisions on flood expenditure. The Review is being delivered by a cross-Government team and will be published in the summer.In response to the flooding, £40 million of funding has been committed to repair flood defences. Construction of the new flood defences is already underway. The Secretary of State will be discussing this issue and the future resilience of the city with Leeds MPs shortly.

Housing: Floods

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will provide guidance to residents whose homes have been flooded in circumstances where the failure of a local agency, local authority or private company to maintain the water management infrastructure adequately can be demonstrated, on how those residents can seek redress or compensation.

Rory Stewart: The Environment Agency and local authorities have permissive powers to maintain flood defences, flood risk assets, culverts or drains. Sewerage companies have a duty under section 94 of the Water Industry Act 1991 to effectually drain their area.Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs) are responsible, under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, for investigating and publish reports on incidents of flooding. These reports may identify the causes of a flooding incident. Those who have been flooded may wish to contact their local LLFA about these reports.

Flood Control

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the purpose is of flood action groups established in areas that have experienced recurring flooding; and whether her Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of such groups improving residents' protection from flooding.

Rory Stewart: Flood action groups enable residents to have a role in managing their own flood risk. Groups define their own priorities to meet the needs of their community and will engage in a range of activities such as; training, emergency response, building community preparedness or lobbying activities, for example.Defra has recently published an independent evaluation of its Flood Resilience Community Pathfinder Scheme, which trialled a number of approaches to help communities find simple, effective ways to minimise their flood risk.

Floods: Emergencies

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will take steps to introduce a single point of emergency contact during incidents of flooding to improve the co-ordinated response to such incidents; and if she will make a statement.

Rory Stewart: The Environment Agency Floodline Service has established a 24 hour, 7 day a week helpline, as a single point of contact on flooding. The Floodline number is 0345 988 1188.In a case of risk to life, however the public should continue to call 999. Floodline has also provided an extended service, providing information on flooding on a 24 hour basis on behalf of local councils.

Birds: Census

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to fund co-ordination of the seabird census planned for 2016.

Rory Stewart: The Chancellor announced budgets for all Government Departments covering the Spending Review period (2016/17 to 2019/20) on 25 November 2015. Defra is currently deciding how this translates into internal allocations for both the core Department and its Network Bodies.

Department of Health

Alzheimer's Disease: Prostate Cancer

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research his Department has assessed or commissioned on potential links between prostate cancer treatment and Alzheimer's disease.

George Freeman: The Department has not made an assessment of, or commissioned, specific research on this topic.

Fertility: Males

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research his Department has assessed or commissioned on potential links between male infertility and diabetes or heart disease.

George Freeman: The Department has not commissioned nor assessed specific research on this topic.

Diseases

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to support the NHS recruit, retain and help the professional development of consultants specialising in (a) rare and (b) ultra-rare diseases.

George Freeman: The Government published the UK Strategy for Rare Diseases in November 2013. The strategy is a high-level framework which sets out a strategic vision for improving the lives of all those affected by rare diseases. The strategy includes specific commitments regarding the education and training of the National Health Service workforce in the context of genomics and rare diseases.Health Education England (HEE) was established to deliver a better healthcare workforce for England and for ensuring a secure workforce supply for the future. In addition, the HEE Genomics Education Programme was established in 2014 and is intended to build capacity and capability in response to the genomic medicine revolution. The programme includes rare diseases within its scope and will support the professional development of both new and existing members of the NHS workforce.HEE has also published a suite of awareness raising videos to inform healthcare workers and the public about rare diseases. One video is aimed at general practitioners and highlights the importance of considering the possibility that their patient may have a rare condition.

Diseases

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to support cooperation between rare diseases organisations through the EU Policy Action and Information for Rare Diseases in Europe.

George Freeman: The Government published the UK Strategy for Rare Diseases in November 2013. The strategy includes 51 specific commitments designed to improve the lives of all those affected by rare diseases.The Government is committed to improving the lives of all those affected by rare diseases and the United Kingdom is recognised as a leader in Europe in the research, care and treatment of rare diseases. The strategy includes commitments to contribute to European Union-wide action on rare diseases.Through the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, the UK successfully led the most recent EU Joint Action on Rare Diseases which concluded in 2015.

Cystic Fibrosis and Hepatitis

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to paragraph 10 of NHS England's board paper, Allocation of resources to NHS England and the commissioning sector for 2016/17 to 2020/21, reference PB.17.12.15/04, if he will quantify the legally binding funding pressures regarding the introduction of treatments for (a) hepatitis C and (b) cystic fibrosis in 2016-17; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman: NHS England has estimated a range for the impact of implementing planned and published National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Guidance relating to treatments for hepatitis C and cystic fibrosis. Due to the commercial in confidence agreements in place a specific figure cannot be provided at this time.

Medical Treatments

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much is available to each NHS trust to fund new drugs and treatments assessed and recommended by NICE.

George Freeman: The Government believes that National Health Service commissioners and providers are best placed to decide how to allocate their budgets to deliver improvements in the outcomes for patients.There is no separately identified ring-fenced funding stream associated with drugs and treatments recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). NHS commissioners are legally required to fund drugs and treatments recommended by NICE.

Diseases

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in the devolved administrations on the implementation of the Rare Disease Strategy.

George Freeman: The implementation of the UK Rare Disease Strategy is monitored by the UK Rare Disease Forum which includes representatives from all the devolved administrations. The Forum will publish their first assessment of the progress made in implementing the UK Rare Disease Strategy at the end of February 2016.The Rare Diseases Advisory Group (RDAG) makes recommendations to NHS England and the devolved administrations of NHS Scotland, NHS Wales and NHS Northern Ireland on developing and implementing the strategy for rare diseases and highly specialised services. The membership of RDAG also includes representation from the devolved administrations – NHS Scotland, NHS Wales and NHS Northern Ireland.

Genetics: Screening

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure greater levels of genetic testing for cancer and ultra rare diseases; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman: Data on existing levels of genetic testing are not held centrally by NHS England. The UK Genetic Testing Network is working with NHS England, the devolved administrations and the Health and Social Care Information Centre to collect and publish United Kingdom-wide data on molecular genetic testing activity. Data collection is expected to have been completed by the summer of 2016 with a full update prepared for publication by the end of the year.The creation of regional Genomic Medicine Centre as part of the 100,000 Genomes Project will significantly increase genomic testing capacity across the UK.The project aims to sequence 100,000 whole human genomes and covers patients with rare diseases, cancer and infectious diseases. There will be 75,000 participants in the project, 40,000 of which will be patients and 35,000 of which will be healthy relatives.

Pancreatic Cancer

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with the National Council for Care Excellence on the development of a clinical guideline for pancreatic cancer; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman: NHS England has asked the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to develop a clinical guideline on the diagnosis and management of pancreatic cancer. The draft scope consultation is currently in progress and the anticipated publication date for the clinical guideline is January 2018.

Department of Health: UK Membership of EU

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to prepare for the outcome of the EU referendum.

Jane Ellison: The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our European Union membership that cause so much frustration in Britain - so we get a better deal for Britain and secure our future. The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation: it believes it can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU.

Tuberous Sclerosis

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the NHS has spent on treating health problems associated with tuberculosis sclerosis in each year since 2010.

George Freeman: Data on the cost to the National Health Service of treating health problems associated with tuberous sclerosis are not collected centrally by NHS England.

Diseases: Research

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to increase research into the causes and types of rare diseases in England.

George Freeman: The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has invested significantly in world-class research infrastructure in the National Health Service, to provide the facilities and people to undertake and increase research into rare diseases.This includes significant funding through the NIHR Biomedical Research Centres and Units, the NIHR Bio Resource - Rare Diseases which provides opportunities for patients, their families and health volunteers to take part in early translational research on the basis of their genotype and phenotype, and the dedicated NIHR Rare Diseases Translational Collaboration that brings together the country’s leading researchers in rare diseases and promotes collaboration including with the life sciences industry.In 2012 the NIHR also launched a call for Applied Clinical Research on Very Rare Diseases as part of the researcher-led funding streams across six of the NIHR Research Programmes. This call was issued in support of the UK Strategy for Rare Diseases and in recognition of the need for increased high quality evidence on the organisation of super specialised services or their commissioning and to improve the health outcomes for sufferers of rare diseases.

Medical Treatments: Technology

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will publish NHS England's decision making criteria for the assessment of highly specialised technologies.

George Freeman: NHS England is currently developing a refined process for the prioritisation of proposed new investments in specialised services and highly specialised services.This continues to be worked up, including formation of potential criteria and weighting. NHS England is aiming to begin using this process in June 2016. The process will be made public once complete.

Specialised Commissioning Oversight Group

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many commissioning policies were developed through the NHS England Specialised Commissioning Oversight Group in (a) 2014 and (b) 2015.

George Freeman: In 2014 NHS England published five clinical commissioning policies and policy statements for the routine of commissioning of new treatments, drugs or devices for specialised commissioning.In 2015 (up to November 2015), 38 such clinical commissioning policies and policy statements were published.Decisions for the 2015/16 commissioning round were due to be made in 2014 but this process was deferred to 2015 pending the outcome of public consultation on process.

Medical Treatments: Technology

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many highly specialised technologies are awaiting assessment by NHS England which were not selected for consideration by NICE's highly specialised technology appraisal process.

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many highly specialised technologies are currently being assessed by the NHS England highly specialised technologies assessment process.

George Freeman: NHS England is currently developing a refined process for the prioritisation of proposed new investments in specialised services and highly specialised services.The number of technologies to be routinely commissioned by NHS England will be determined by the new process.

Medical Treatments

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of medicines selected by NHS England Clinical Reference Groups for the development of commissioning policies have been (a) approved and (b) not approved by each Programme of Care board.

George Freeman: National Programmes of Care boards do not approve or decline proposed investments in specialised services.Decisions on proposed investments are made by NHS England's Specialised Commissioning Oversight Group and the Specialised Commissioning Committee following recommendations from the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group.National Programmes of Care boards provide assurance that proper process has been followed in the development of proposals for consideration.

Medical Treatments: Technology

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many technologies have been assessed through NHS England's commissioning through evaluation process in (a) 2014 and (b) 2015.

George Freeman: In 2014, five treatments commencedevaluation under NHS England's Commissioning through Evaluation programme.In 2015, six treatments commenced evaluation under NHS England's Commissioning through Evaluation programme.

Genito-urinary Medicine

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will bring forward proposals to require local authorities to conduct a needs assessment of local sexual health and contraceptive services before issuing tenders.

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how his Department plans to monitor progress against the targets in its Framework for Sexual Health Improvement in England.

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment has been undertaken of the effect on sexual and reproductive health services of reductions in the Public Health Grant to local authorities for 2015-16 and the measures in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 relating to the public health system.

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what evaluation he (a) has made or (b) plans to make of the effect of local authority commissioning of long acting reversible contraceptives (LARC) in primary care on the number of GP surgeries offering LARC fitting and removal.

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what system of monitoring is in place to ensure that local authorities meet their duty to commission open access, confidential services for sexually transmitted infections and contraception.

Jane Ellison: The Department’s Framework for Sexual Health Promotion in England (2013) sets out our ambitions and objectives to improve sexual health for all people. It takes account of the commissioning arrangements from 2013 including the new role for local authorities (LAs) as commissioners of most sexual health services. Later this month Public Health England (PHE) will undertake a survey of local commissioning arrangements for sexual health. It has also produced sexual health and reproductive health profiles to help LAs and others monitor the sexual and reproductive health of their populations and the performance of local public health related systems.It is for LAs to decide on what research and evidence they need to inform their tenders for sexual health and reproductive health services in line with procurement requirements and good practice. In 2014 PHE published Making it Work, a guide to commissioning for sexual health across the whole system, to improve the sexual health of both individuals and the wider public.We have made no formal assessment of the effect on sexual health services of reductions in the Public Health Grant to LAs for 2015/16, although PHE continues to monitor relevant outcomes data for every LA in England. Decisions on local public health spending are a matter for LAs. They are mandated by legislation to commission open access sexual health services that meet the needs of their local population. Officials meet regularly with sexual health organisations who would raise any concerns if LAs were not meeting their mandatory requirements for sexual health services.The Framework for Sexual Health Improvement includes as a priority reducing unwanted pregnancies and highlights the need to increase access to long acting reversible contraception (LARC) methods and emergency contraception for women of all ages. We have no plans to evaluate the effect on general practitioner surgeries of LA commissioning of LARCs.

Genito-urinary Medicine

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will publish an accountability structure of the responsibilities regarding sexual and reproductive health for each government department and arm's length body.

Jane Ellison: The Department is responsible for overall policy on sexual health in England. We work collaboratively with all relevant arm’s length bodies on issues linked to sexual health and we also maintain good working relationships with other government departments on issues relating to sexual health. Accountability structures for each organisation are already in the public domain.

Mental Health Services: Pregnant Women

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the £290 million that the Prime Minister announced on 11 January 2016 to help new and expectant mothers combat poor mental health is additional funding, over and above existing budgets.

Alistair Burt: The £290 million investment in perinatal mental health services announced by the Prime Minister is funded from within the Department’ overall Spending Review Settlement.This builds on the initial investment announced at the Spring 2015 Budget, making a total investment from 2016/17 to 2020/21 of £350 million.

Mental Health Services: Young People

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Prime Minister's announcement of 11 January 2016, how much of the proposed £1.4 billion mental health support funding for young people over the next five years has already been allocated.

Alistair Burt: The Government has committed to making available the full £1.4 billion over the course of this Parliament to improve children and young people’s mental health.In this financial year (2015/16), the Government has already allocated £173 million. This includes:- £75 million for clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to improve local services;- £30 million to CCGs to develop evidence based community eating disorder services for children and young people;- £28 million to fund the expansion of the Children and Young People’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies Programme;- £15 million for improvements to perinatal mental health care; and- £25 million for investment in inpatient services for children and young people, to build workforce capability, and to support innovation and development of online support.A targeted and phased approach to the additional investment over future years will enable local areas to develop additional capacity and a collaborative approach across health, education and children’s services so that the money can be spent effectively. This is what is needed to make a real difference. The Government remains committed to spend the whole £1.4 billion over the course of this Parliament to improve children and young people’s mental health.

Mental Health Services: Finance

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Prime Minister's announcement of 11 January 2016, whether the £290 million of investment announced for perinatal mental health care is in addition to the (a) £1.25 billion investment for perinatal and children and young people's mental health announced by the then Deputy Prime Minister in March 2015 and (b) £660 million investment for mental health announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

Alistair Burt: The £290 million announced by the Prime Minister for perinatal mental health is in addition to the £1.25 billion announced by the Deputy Prime Minister. It is funded from within the Department’s overall Spending Review Settlement.

Mental Health Services: Finance

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Prime Minister's announcement of 11 January 2016, whether the £247 million of investment announced for liaison mental health services in emergency departments is in addition to (a) the £1.25 billion investment for perinatal and children and young people's mental health announced by the then Deputy Prime Minister in March 2015 and (b) the £600 million investment for mental health announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Prime Minister's announcement of 11 January 2016, whether the £400 million of investment announced for crisis home resolution teams in communities is in addition to the (a) £1.25 billion investment for perinatal and children and young people's mental health announced by the then Deputy Prime Minister in March 2015 and (b) £600 million investment for mental health announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

Alistair Burt: The investment for liaison mental health services and crisis home response teams detailed by the Prime Minister on 11 January 2016 is funded from within the Department’s overall Spending Review settlement.

Health Professions: Registration

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many nationals of members state of the European Economic Area have registered with the (a) Health and Care Professions Council, (b) General Optical Council, (c) General Osteopathic Council and (d) General Chiropractic Council since June 2014.

Ben Gummer: The information requested about the numbers of nationals of member states of the European Economic Area (EEA) that have registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), the General Optical Council (GOC), the General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) and the General Chiropractic Council (GCC) since June 2014 is not collected or held centrally.However, information provided by the relevant regulatory bodies to enable this parliamentary question to be answered regarding EEA registrations since 1 June 2014 to date, is shown in the table below.Regulatory bodyData provided by the regulatory body*(GOsC)15 nationals of member states of the EEA have been registered by the GOsC since June 2014.(GCC)11 nationals of member states of the EEA have been registered by the GCC since June 2014.(GOC)65 nationals of member states of the EEA have been registered by the GOC since June 2014.(HCPC)1,934 individuals.*The individuals in question are all EEA nationals who gained their qualifications in another member state and who applied under the Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications European Directive. This is with the exception of the figures provided by the HCPC where the figure may also include third country nationals (non-EEA nationals) who have become established in their profession in their home member state and have subsequently exercised their Treaty rights under the Directive.

Social Services: Living Wage

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the National Living Wage on the provision of adult social care.

Alistair Burt: The new National Living Wage (NLW) will ensure that care workers are better paid for the vital work they do. The Government engaged with the social care sector, including care providers and the costs of the NLW were considered as part of the Spending Review. The overall costs to local authorities of providing social care were also considered.We recognise that demand for social care is growing and that councils will need to increase the price they pay for care to cover costs such as the NLW.The Spending Review settlement provides £3.5 billion of new support for social care by 2019/20. Councils will be able to introduce a new Social Care Precept, which will allow an increase of 2% above the existing threshold to be added to council tax, raising up to £2 billion that has to be spent exclusively on adult social care. By 2019/20 an extra £1.5 billion will have been made available to be included in the Better Care Fund. Taken together, the Social Care Precept and the Better Care Fund will mean local government has access to funding to increase social care spending in real terms by the end of the Parliament.

Agency Nurses: Greater London

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much was spent on agency nurses by each NHS trust in London in each year since 2010.

Alistair Burt: This information is not collected centrally.The Rt. Hon. Member may wish to contact each National Health Service trust directly for further information.Following the Francis report many trusts increased their spend on temporary staffing to meet safe staffing levels. The Department expects trusts to have a strong grip on their finances, and manage their contract and agency staffing spend (including use of locums) responsibly through effective and efficient workforce planning and management and to minimise temporary staffing costs in future years.

General Practitioners: Greater London

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of total health spending in (a) London and (b) each London borough was allocated to general practice in each year since 2010.

Alistair Burt: The information requested is not available for the period prior to the establishment of NHS England.We are advised that general practices in London held budgets as a percentage of total clinical commissioning group and direct commissioning budgets (excluding specialised commissioning held on a provider basis), according to the following proportions: 8.2% in 2013/14 and 2014/15, and 8.3% in 2015/16.

NHS: Expenditure

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much was spent on (a) sexual health, (b) drug and alcohol and (c) smoking public health initiatives in (i) England and Wales, (ii) London and (iii) each London borough in each year since 2010.

Jane Ellison: Spending in Wales on these initiatives is a matter for the Welsh government.Local authorities in England took over public health responsibility from April 2013 and are responsible for assessing local need and commissioning services and interventions to meet that need, using the Public Health Grant. They are free to determine their actual spend on services based on this assessment of need, but are required to report their spending on an annual basis. The Department for Communities and Local Government publishes statistics on local authority expenditure and total expenditure for sexual health services, drugs and alcohol services and smoking in England, London and London boroughs for the years 2013/14 and 2014/15. The links to the data are below:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing-england-2013-to-2014-individual-local-authority-data-outturnhttps://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing-england-2014-to-2015-individual-local-authority-data-outturnIt is important to note that the expenditure on drug and alcohol services may not reflect all the resources that a local authority may have used on drug and alcohol misuse. For example community care budgets can be used to help people as part of their recovery from drug and/or alcohol dependency.Prior to April 2013 primary care trusts commissioned public health services and public health expenditure was not published separately. Alcohol misuse services and smoking cessation services were funded from general National Health Service allocations and figures on this spend prior to 2013/14 are not available centrally.Drug misuse services were funded from the Pooled Treatment Budget and figures for 2010/11 to 2012/13 are available at the links below:2010-11: http://www.nta.nhs.uk/uploads/adultptballocation2010-11final.pdf2011-12: http://www.nta.nhs.uk/uploads/drugfunding11-12annexc[0].pdf2012-13: http://www.nta.nhs.uk/uploads/drugfunding12-13v.xls

Nurses: Vacancies

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the nurse vacancy rate was on 1 December (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013, (e) 2014 and (f) 2015 in (i) London and (ii) each health trust in London.

Ben Gummer: The information requested is not centrally collected.

Women and Equalities

Police: Ethnic Groups

Dawn Butler: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent discussions she has had with her ministerial colleagues on increasing the number of BME police officers.

Caroline Dinenage: Since 2013, officials in the Government Equalities Office have been working with the Home Office and police representatives on how best to use provisions within the Equality Act 2010 to help increase the number of BME police officers.The officer workforce is more representative in terms of gender and ethnicity than it has ever been. At 31 March 2015, there were 6,979 BME officers representing 5.5% of all police officers (compared with 4.6% in 2010, 3.6% in 2006 and only 2.2% in 2000).At 31 March 2015, there were 35,738 female officers, representing 28.2% of all police officers (compared with 25.7% in 2010, and only 16.5% in 2000).

Government Equalities Office: UK Membership of EU

Tim Loughton: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what contingency arrangements the Government Equalities Office has made for the eventuality of a majority leave vote in the upcoming EU referendum.

Caroline Dinenage: We refer the Right Hon. MP to the response submitted by the Cabinet Office.

Suicide: Males

Karl McCartney: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the number of men who die as a result of suicide.

Caroline Dinenage: Every death by suicide is a tragedy. That is why we asked local areas to support an ambition to work towards ‘zero suicides’.We will continue to drive the implementation of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy to address the rise in suicides, focusing on high risk groups such as men.The Department of Health is working with partner organisations to look at ways of strengthening the National Strategy.

Domestic Violence: Victim Support Schemes

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what discussions she has had with her ministerial colleagues on securing long-term funding for domestic violence services.

Karen Bradley: The Government has already announced £40m of funding for domestic abuse services between 2016 and 2020, as well as a £2m grant to Women’s Aid and Safelives to support early intervention.We will shortly publish a refreshed cross-Government Violence Against Women and Girls strategy setting out how we will do more still to secure long-term funding for domestic violence services and support for all victims.

Sanitary Protection: VAT

Christian Matheson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what progress the Government is making on negotiating the removal of VAT on women's sanitary products.

Mr David Gauke: I have written to the European Commission and other Member States setting out our strong view that Member States should have full discretion over what rate of VAT they can apply to sanitary products, and that this should be considered in the context of the Commission’s Action Plan on VAT, which is now expected to be published in March 2016.